News of the World

We now bring you the News of the World straight from Amazon Prime. In today's News, we have a Western odyssey adapted by Paul Greengrass and Luke Davies from Paulette Jiles' novel. It's a decent way to spend a slow Sunday Morning. Read on for more:

1870, Texas. Captain Jefferson Kidd (Tom Hanks) is a veteran of the Confederate Army. He now goes town to town reading the newspapers for a paying audience. One day, he finds an overturned wagon, its driver lynched and its passenger, Johanna (Helena Zengel), alone. She was raised by Kiowa tribesmen, then was re-captured by soldiers. She's an "orphan twice-over" with an Aunt and Uncle nearby. Kidd finds himself forced to escort her to them.

The story is pretty much episodic once Kidd undertakes the mission. First, he and Johanna evade a trio of despicable men who want her that badly. Let's leave it at that. They then encounter a tanner Baron Mr. Farley (Thomas Francis Murphy) who wants Kidd to read from his White Supremacist Press. Kidd inspires a revolt when he instead reads about the survivors of a mine disaster. Overtime, Kidd comes to regard Johanna as a surrogate daughter. Certain scenes, including the shootout with the three jerks, are perfectly tense. The overall story unfolds in a slow and steady 118 minutes. 

There's a good cast here. Naturally, Hanks as Kidd is a good man. He easily keeps calm when rowdy patrons act out. He's reluctant to take on Johanna, owing to his troubled past, but he's more than willing to fight the despicable men for her. Zengel is great in her first American film. Her relationship with Kidd is the film's endearing plot thread. The villains they meet perfectly play such despicable men. One of Farley's workers, John Calley (Fred Hechinger), helps save Kidd from his boss. He unfortunately leaves the film after that.

It's a technically well-done film. The cinematography by Dariusz Wolski is made for the biggest screens possible. There's a massive cattle drive and sand storm, along with spectacular views of the barren plains of Texas. See if you notice that most of the cities Kidd visits were actually one set. It's an amazing feat of production design by David Crank. The Oscar-shortlisted Score by James Newton Howard adds grandeur to the visuals. It's a shame that it's not available in theatres everywhere. 

It's instead available on many streaming services for almost $20. Check out the News of the World if you want a Western Epic right away. It's an easy distraction from the current News of the World. Its slow story is made better by its two leads. Its price should come down next month with its physical media release. That'll leave you plenty of time before the Oscars on April 25th.