The Dead Don't Hurt

Set in the 1860s, Viggo Mortensen’s second outing as writer-director, after Falling in 2020, is an elegant, beautifully realised feminist western starring Mortensen himself and Vicky Krieps as immigrants attempting to forge a new life against considerable odds. In a frontier town in Nevada run by corrupt forces, a fiercely independent French-Canadian woman, Vivienne Le Coudy (Krieps), embarks on a relationship with the passionate, hard-working Danish immigrant, Holger Olsen (Mortensen), but it’s one that leads to danger for them both. With the threat of the Civil War looming, their future becomes uncertain when Holger decides to fight for the Union, leaving Vivienne on her own to face the dangerous threats of the corrupt mayor (Danny Huston), the powerhungry ranch owner (Garret Dillahunt), and the rancher’s violent son (Solly McLeod).