Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse. Spoilers will be included
Those who wish me dead is a 2021 American crime thriller film directed and written by Taylor Sheridan, it stars Angelina Jolie, Finn Little, Jon Bernthal, and Nicholas Hoult. The motion picture follows a teenage murder witness who finds himself pursued by twin assassins in the Montana wilderness with a survival expert who suffers from PTSD tasked with protecting him — and a forest fire threatening to consume them all.
UNDER THE LENS: VISUALS AND FIRE
Visuals: First off Those Who Wish Me Dead is a beautiful-looking picture, with stunning visuals that envelop the watcher. The picture is filled with expansive vistas and scenic camera shots of the wilderness that are at times breathtaking. Some of the more stunning visuals come near the end when after defeating the villains Jolies Hannah and her young charge must outrun a raging forest fire. The fire is showcased as unrelenting, raging, and almost demonic in nature. However, it also has a hypnotic beauty, something one is drawn to even though it may take your life. The forest is shown as wild and untamed, with the view from the watch tower showcasing just how small humans really are when up against nature.
Fire: Ben Richardson does a fine job showcasing the fire as a character unto itself. We watch as it grows from a small blaze into a monstrous beast consuming all in its path, the fire is at once hero and villain. It destroys Hannah’s life at the start when people she is tasked to protect die, however, we then see the fire aid her by forcing the villains to change their plans then kill one of them. Fire is seen as a sort of cleansing force throughout the picture, the villains see it as a force to erase their deeds and hide them, and Hannah sees it as a malevolent force that changed her life forever. In the end, it’s fire that saves her and her young change, giving Hannah the second start she so desperately wants and needs.
HIGHLIGHTS
The supporting cast is fantastic and shines even when they are only in the picture for a few moments.
Taylor Sheridan is known for the modern western, and this picture has a real “Modern west” feel to it
The script did a good job of showcasing a world, not of heroes and villains but broken people dealing with more broken people.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
Hannah: The fire will do it for me, you can f*cking suffer
SOMTHING TO THINK ABOUT
Have you ever been through an event that haunts you? How did you get over it?
CONCLUSION
Those who wish me dead is a good thriller that delivers on thrills and twists but does at times suffer from a script that could have used a few more rewrites. That being said Taylor Sheridan has succeeded in crafting a film that captures the modern west. In the same vein as Wind River and Hell or High Water, Those who wish me dead tell the story of good people caught up in terrible and sometimes brutal circumstances, and indeed feel like it could exist in the world of the previous two pictures. The picture is a visual feast and the viewer will be left in awe at the amazing vistas and dangerous splendor of the raging wildfire. Anchored with a strong performance by Angelina Jolie and tense action Those who wish me dead captures the grimdark of Sheridan’s modern American west and is perfect for those looking for a neo-western.
