'The Thicket' Review: Peter Dinklage, Juliette Lewis And Company Lumber Around A Grizzled Western

If the storyteller that is film is to be believed, the mid-to-late 1800s was a time when one step into the vast expanse that is the western portion of the United States would almost immediately put oneself in grave danger. Whether via roaming bands of horrific marauders, business deals gone haywire, or law enforcement laying waste in pursuit of many an elusive bank robber, finding safe passage from Point A to Point B proved a tricky procedure, and I won’t even begin to mention a rattlesnake or two. Historical records can easily lend weight to much of these fictional works, the latter best seen onscreen in cinematic centerpieces “Lonesome Dove” and “Unforgiven,” even directly addressing the perils of the era in “A Million Ways to Die in the West.” Obviously, the same can be said about any genre with roots in reality, but for the sake of this review, focusing on the latest Western outing, “The Thicket,” we’ll keep our attention there.

The list of Western classics, incendiary films that sit alongside some of history’s finest works of art, is as long as it is diverse; it’s easy to find just as many defining entries as there are lackluster. Unfortunately, despite the level of talent involved, “The Thicket” is yet another addition to a club filled with the likes of “The Quick and the Dead,” last year’s “Surrounded,” and *shudder* “Wild Wild West,” with this a film so seemingly focused on portraying the grit and atmosphere of a specific time in American history while burying an overused story packed with characters solely capable of producing an unintentional chuckle or two as opposed to building genuine interest in what exactly it is that’s occupying the film’s runtime.

The opening sets the tone, as better films should; here, we meet Bill (Juliette Lewis), short for Wilhelmina and adopting the nickname Cutthroat, as her gang encounters another in any nondescript section of 19th-century countryside. One brutal killing later, Bill now has group member Lula (Esmé Creed-Miles) in her possession, sending her brother Luke (Levon Hawke) to enlist the services of bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Peter Dinklage) in an effort to track her down. What follows could best be described as scene after scene of quarrels between Jones and Luke, occasional scenes of Bill arguing with roughly everyone she meets, all broken up by periodic violence before culminating in the inevitable shootout, which serves to check the box on the unwritten list of Western cliché. We’ve seen it before. We’ll see it again.

“The Magnificent Seven,” perhaps? Quite possibly one of the more apt comparisons of recent memory, another take on the “Enlistment of Ramshackle Gunfighters by Someone Seeking Revenge” trope, “The Thicket” seems less concerned with attempting to break any semblance of new ground and more on simply making it to the credits. A film long in the works for Dinklage, it becomes apparent with every passing minute how this decades-strong industry veteran has delivered far better elsewhere, as his take on Jones sees Dinklage apparently doing what he can behind a beard and a facial expression that still manages to speak volumes no matter the film. There’s likely a limit to what Dinklage can bring to Jones, with the movie based on Joe R. Lansdale‘s 2013 novel of the same name, but it nonetheless seems clear more substance waits in the wings, never receiving that spotlight moment so as to elevate Jones from forgettable to something resembling memorable. As it is, the title character blends in with the rest, and no gruff vocal affectation helps in any way.

However, it’s Juliette Lewis who accelerates past Dinklage in terms of voice, as Bill receives one that causes both the aforementioned humor and a truckload of curiosity whenever the similarly talented actress opens her mouth. It’s hard to tell what Lewis is trying to do; maybe it’s an attempt to sound all the more menacing. There’s no evidence of Lewis in Bill, a genuinely positive feather in the film’s cap, but the voice takes “The Thicket” to an over-the-top pedestal, always finding a way back up whenever the film begins to come down. Each and every scene, from the opening to her interactions with Luna throughout, see Lewis in a near-constant state of what should be tense conversation and delivering the last line; it’s as textbook a villain one’s likely to see.

Unfortunately, the supporting cast does little to patch any holes in the dam that is “The Thicket”; Hawke’s character appears to exist if for no other reason than to quarrel with Dinklage, with the latter negatively pointing out Luke’s Christian background and Luke doing the same with regards to Jones’ stature. It’s moments such as these that kick Jones’ temper into gear, and it’s here that the physicality of Dinklage receives a proper showcase as he fails to hesitate when it comes to a few minutes of brawl. Esmé Creed-Miles’ take on Lula fares somewhat better, conveying the terror as she contends with her situation and every interaction with Bill, with some well-conveyed emotion in the final scenes. Leslie Grace, sadly, blends into the background as Jimmie Sue, another member of Jones’ crew, and you’d be forgiven if Metallica frontman James Hetfield goes unnoticed as someone who exits “The Thicket” just as quickly as he arrives.

There’s no question that the hazards of such a specific era emerge from the screen at a relatively consistent clip; this is one of the film’s greatest strengths, a project that lacks many but can’t be faulted for trying…something. It’s simply not enough; another Western doomed to find its way buried beneath those that came before and those yet to materialize, but still a reminder that life back then was by no means easy. Dinklage remains one of the finest actors around, and Lewis is undoubtedly more than capable of something better, with evidence seen here as she disappears within Bill, but all that holds “The Thicket” together does barely enough to qualify all that unfolds as just another movie. [C-]

“The Thicket” hits theaters on September 6.