This movie was filmed in Montana on Blackfeet land and using the Blackfeet Bison herds. In a sense it pays tribute to the almost complete decimation of the American Bison herds in the late 1800s, but through recognition of the issue and conservation has now restored the Bison to healthy numbers.
There are several stories going on here but the catalyst is a young man, Will Andrews (played by 20-ish Fred Hechinger), a student from Massachusetts who dropped out of Harvard to experience something different, traveling to the fictional Kansas town of Butcher's Crossing with a few hundred in cash in his wallet. And very short on relevant experience.
There he meets Nicolas Cage as Miller, an old experienced Bison hunter. Miller says he knows of a land in Colorado where Bison are so plentiful you can kill as many as you want. He expects the skins will fetch four dollars each. All he needs is a few hundred to finance the four-man trip with horses and a wagon to bring the skins back.
There isn't much novel about the characters or the problems they encounter, we have all seen that in various 1800s old west movies. However it turns into a good character study, although somewhat slow during most of the second half of the movie. The thing that stuck with me the most was the depiction of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of skinned Bison carcasses in the field. This was special effects in the movie but that sort of thing really did happen back then.
Interesting movie, but I wouldn't want to watch it again. On DVD from my public library. Nic Cage is good as he usually is.
There are several stories going on here but the catalyst is a young man, Will Andrews (played by 20-ish Fred Hechinger), a student from Massachusetts who dropped out of Harvard to experience something different, traveling to the fictional Kansas town of Butcher's Crossing with a few hundred in cash in his wallet. And very short on relevant experience.
There he meets Nicolas Cage as Miller, an old experienced Bison hunter. Miller says he knows of a land in Colorado where Bison are so plentiful you can kill as many as you want. He expects the skins will fetch four dollars each. All he needs is a few hundred to finance the four-man trip with horses and a wagon to bring the skins back.
There isn't much novel about the characters or the problems they encounter, we have all seen that in various 1800s old west movies. However it turns into a good character study, although somewhat slow during most of the second half of the movie. The thing that stuck with me the most was the depiction of dozens, perhaps hundreds, of skinned Bison carcasses in the field. This was special effects in the movie but that sort of thing really did happen back then.
Interesting movie, but I wouldn't want to watch it again. On DVD from my public library. Nic Cage is good as he usually is.