BUTCHER’S CROSSING

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray from writer/director Gabe Polsky, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Saban Films from the novel of the same name by John Edward Williams is the tale of BUTCHER’S CROSSING.

The west is still wild in 1874 when Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) has decided to head west and experience it all. Joining Miller (Nicolas Cage) on a buffalo hunt, he learns what it takes from a true buffalo hunter taking him to Colorado. Wanting to see it all for himself, Andrews puts up the money for the adventure of a lifetime in Colorado.

Along is Charlie Hoge (Xander Berkeley) to be their camp cook and skinner Fred Schneider (Jeremy Bobb) and neither believe that Miller knows of the place where the buffalo still roam in big herds. When Miller finds the herd, weeks of slaughter begin and Will begins to feel the emotional strain of it all. When Schneider points out that they have more than they can carry, Miller refuses to stop even though winter is on its way.

When a blizzard comes in, the four men must find a way to survive which is the easy part since they are all turning against one another. If that isn’t horror enough, the spring and return to Butcher’s Crossing bring another setback. Will realizes that the romantic notion of the west he once had has turned to dust and Miller’s dreams of his own are equally worthless.

Welcome to the west.

Cage as Miller once again plays a role that he does oh so well, that of a man out of control to the point that no one knows what will come next. The moment his character discovers the large herd of buffalo, nothing else matters, not even the men he is with. The character of Miller doesn’t have much to say but when he says it you had better pay attention. I enjoyed watching Cage get his western chops on film, especially getting to play a character that is so unnerving.

Hechinger as Andrews is a young man who leaves a prestigious college to go out and see the west and all the wild he hopes it will have. Taking his own money to bring that dream to fruition, it is nothing that he anticipated. What he discovers is that there are men, like the ones he is with, that are as unpredictable and dangerous as the land surrounding them. Hechinger brings his character face to face with reality and the emotional toll that all of it takes on the human body and soul.

Berkeley as Hoge is a man who can not deal with what is happening around him and it doesn’t help that the skinner continually harasses him. Yet, he is a man of the wilderness who knows how to deal with it all in his own way. Bobb as Schneider hates that Miller is controlling everything and not listening to reason. He also is a character who seems to enjoy tormenting those around him for his amusement and that will cost him.

Saban Films was launched in 2014 and has built an impressive slate of high-quality feature films distributed with partner Lionsgate. Focusing on talent-driven films, the company looks at projects in all stages of production to be released across multiple platforms. Films such as SISTER OF THE GROOM, FATMAN and BREACH are part of the wonderful Saban slate, and more information can be found at www.sabanfilms.com.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

First of all, the cinematography of the film, shot on the land belonging to the Blackfeet Nation in Montana, is stunning with its beauty and openness. That lends to the story that Polsky is trying to tell as the scenery is a silent character in the film and in that silence screams. Just absolutely amazing and worthy of praise.

BUTCHER’S CROSSING is the story of four men caught in a situation that won’t resolve itself with ease. Dominating with fear and brutality, Cage’s character Miller leads the cast with an insanity that permeates every frame of the film. Offsetting that brutality is Hechinger’s character Andrews, who just wanted to see the west, discovers quickly that what is in his head, his body can not handle. Dealing with what he is seeing sends him in a tailspin.

This film is well done, well directed and equally stunning visually. It is not filled with emotional music and special effects but instead, a brutal look at a world that none of us could ever comprehend. It also addresses the effects of bison hunting and who has stepped up to save what is left of these powerful animals.

In the end – who is the true savage animal?