Tim Blake Nelson is Old Henry? ….. Movie Review “OLD HENRY”

Some of the better Westerns are not complicated films and are just simple takes on people that are in situations that bend the normalcy of life on the land. The person in question is a farmer with a past that is not known until his normalcy is disturbed by a man he finds all shot up with a bag of money on his Oklahoma Territory plot,  just before statehood in the future Sooner state.  A kid that grows into a man is the story behind the story.  Enough said on that.

This titular character,  portraited by the great Tim Blake Nelson, a born Oklahoman in his own history, gives another wonderful performance as a man that is not just a farmer.  A farmer, yes, but there is more to his history and what he can claim as who he is and what he can do.   From notes about the film, Blake worked his body and skills as a real pistoleer, not to mention in getting his mindset correct on his “old Henry” characterization persona.  From farmer to killer, Blake does the  transformation without letting on to the viewer.  It is one thing to kill a man with a gun, but much the different to kill a man with your hands around his neck.  The fact that the “evil” one in the movie kills the same way as the “good” one is something not to overlook.  Yet, is the “good” farmer actually the good one but maybe the true “evil”  one that has hidden for many years? Can you change your stripes?  When does a true personality come back to life? To protect your son?  And are you as bad as they say?  It is a subtle performance by Blake, one that is worthy of accolades, but the subtleness is a facade in his actions when it comes to nut cutting time?  Do not overlook that good and evil are closely associated and this movie bares that out.  It is a fine line in our humanity, and we see that here in this film.  Pat Garrett, did you live a lie?  Pat, oh Pat, did you have a part in this story?

This is not a ground breaking Western, but one that gives a hearty look at something that is not new but in fact, much better than your standard Western bull crap.   It is pure western entertainment that viewers of the genre love to partake in. Watch this flick and you will not be disappointed. Shout out to the writer/director Potsy Ponciroli and his movie. His work is also noteworthy as is the outstanding cinematography of John Matysiak. 

Billy, oh Billy.  Why are you so much in the history of our West?