‘Old Henry’ Is Old-School Cinema In All The Best Ways – The Federalist

At a moment when Hollywood tries to either one-up itself on stale leftist messaging or on over-the-top special effects, Hideout Pictures Old Henry stands out as understated, entertaining, and even compelling.

Following massive blockbusters like Marvels three-hour Endgame (which not only did I not watch, I then couldnt even remember whether I had watched it) and the Bond franchises almost-three-hour No Time To Die, Old Henry clocks in at only an hour and 38 minutes. Unlike the exhausting, make-your-eyes-glaze-over excess of movies like Marvels, Old Henry is old-school cinema, relying on a clever plot, compelling acting, and memorable characters.

Tim Blake Nelson stars as grizzled farmer Henry McCarty, who along with his son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis) finds a nearly dead man with a bag of money and takes him in. Both the stranger and a posse of men who show up looking for him claim to be lawmen from nearby Woods County, and accuse the other of being dangerous outlaws. The interactions that follow, and the twists they introduce, hold the audiences interest without exploding planets, otherworldly villains, unrealistic car chases, or steamy sex scenes (there isnt a single woman in the nine-person cast).

The movies simplicity makes it almost come off in the style of a play. Almost the entire movie takes place on the McCarty farm or in the surrounding fields, and the plot moves forward with only a handful of characters, making it seem easily adaptable to the stage. A stage version wouldnt require any high-tech gadgetry or greenscreens, just a few prop guns and the accouterments of a run-down cabin.

Set in 1906, Old Henrys style fits its era. Like an Ernest Hemingway novel, the main character is endearing without being full-blown likable. (I couldnt help thinking of Santiago from The Old Man and the Sea near the end of the film.)

As the movies of Hollywoods golden age assumed viewers would be intrigued enough by the plot to overlook the eras shortcomings in special effects, Old Henry assumes the plot is compelling enough that extensive special effects arent needed. If anything, they would detract from this simple story of a protagonist who appears to be a simple man.

The movies twists are simple yet clever, harkening back to the style of American film legends like Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcocks most iconic films are notoriously simple in style (think of Rear Window, filmed from a single room), which amplifies the brilliance of each plots unexpected surprises. I wont go so far as to say that Old Henry deserves a seat next to the Hitchcock classics, but it does appear to draw from Hitchcocks methods, and thats a strike in its favor.

One of the twists fair warning, spoilers from here on out reveals that unassuming farmer Henry is none other than outlaw Billy the Kid, trying to eke out a quiet living in retirement while the world assumes hes been killed. His late-born desire to settle down as an honest man is thwarted by the antics of random outlaws who just happen to show up and wont leave him alone, and Henry sees his since-repented life of crime catch up to him. Rather than being a single big twist that the film spends the rest of its time overselling, however, Henrys identity is one of several unexpected turns that crop up as the story plays out.

After a climactic scene in whcih Henry uses his larger-than-life prowess to fight his way out of hopeless odds, the movie leaves you relieved, only to throw one more twist that leaves Henry dying on his farmhouse floor. Its an ironic tragedy that has the audience waiting for the happy ending to work out until the very last minute, only to be disappointed by an ending thats still somehow profound evocative of 20th-century American greats like Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie or Victor Flemings Gone With The Wind (based, of course, on Margaret Mitchells novel of the same name).

Despite its serious material and drawing from a pantheon of classics, Old Henry doesnt take itself too seriously, unlike the painfully self-aware flicks that Hollywood has lately turned out. Tasteful cinematography combines idyllic autumn panoramas with gritty and even ugly realism Tim Blake Nelson is no charming, crooked-grinned John Wayne, but thats what makes him perfect for the role. Like the rest of the film, the soundtrack is understated, and winsome as a result.

Old Henry may not be an epic or a big box office moneymaker (it only aired at 30 theaters before moving to streaming platforms), but it isnt intended to be. And because it doesnt try to do too much, what it does is refreshingly good.

Elle Reynolds is an assistant editor at The Federalist, and received her B.A. in government from Patrick Henry College with a minor in journalism. You can follow her work on Twitter at @_etreynolds.

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'Old Henry' Is Old-School Cinema In All The Best Ways - The Federalist