The western “Old Henry” with an outstanding Tim Blake Nelson has been running on the streaming service Amazon Prime since February 6th. MeinMMO author Schuhmann considers it a must for every Western fan.
This is how the film begins: On a ranch in the middle of nowhere, a bony man raises his son with Bible verses and hard work. The mother has been dead for a long time and the two don’t get along very well. The boy wants to shoot around, go hunting, experience something, maybe move to the city, the father mostly wants to have some peace and quiet and feed the pigs.
Then a stray horse trots towards the farm. The father looks for the rider, finds a man who has been shot, hesitates briefly, turns around and rides away.
It could all be so easy, but Old Henry hesitates again, turns around again, takes the man with him to his ranch and invites trouble. Because of course the man is being pursued by a gang of killers and although Old Henry is surprisingly good at tracking him down, it doesn’t take long before three shady guys show up in front of his ranch and ask how old Henry is doing.
German trailer for the western “Old Henry”
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A silent man at the center of a harsh film
This is what makes the film special: Tim Blake Nelson is known as a strange supporting character from “O Brother where are thou” – in Old Henry he silently dominates every scene. The viewer quickly suspects that there is more to the skinny man than meets the eye, but never really gets a grip on him.
The silent man is contrasted by his babbling son, who has an ideal idea of what life in the Wild West must be like and does not understand that his father wants to protect him from exactly this life.
The “stranger” on the farm is mysterious, as are the tough men who pursue him.
The core of the film remains uncertain for a long time, only in the last few minutes does it fully emerge. Like any good Western, “Old Henry” has a massive showdown that begins with the reveal of the twist and only ends when the last bullet is fired.
How is the film rated?? Old Henry has a “Fresh Score” of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.3/10 on IMDB. Metacritic falls slightly at 69%.
We have a clear viewing recommendation for anyone who doesn’t immediately saddle up their horses at Western and head away.
Old Henry runs on Amazon Prime in German. It is recommended for viewers aged 16 and over.
More movie recommendations on Amazon Prime: I avoided a movie by a great director because I thought it was cheesy – I was wrong