The Thicket: Clichéd But Colorful

You know what they say. "One day, you're an angry elf, and the next, you're an angry bounty hunter." At least that's what I say. And Peter Dinklage is remarkably at home here as a vertically challenged but ever-competent bounty hunter who's seen his fair share of horrible things and caused plenty of them, too. The Thicket, a Tubi original western based on a novel of the same name, is impressively sturdy for a genre film made and distributed by an over-the-top media company. And from Peter Dinklage to Juliette Lewis to Metallica's James Hetfield of all people, it's remarkably well-cast and acted, too. Cut Throat Bill, a female outlaw who's anything but ladylike, has kidnapped a young woman named Lula Parker, and her brother, Jack, wants Lula back. But to get her back, he'll have to play a game of pick-your-cliche first. And so he'll team up with a motley crew of questionably ethical lawmen, fall in love with a saloon prostitute, and get reasonably handy with a six-shooter, maybe handy enough to outshoot his enemies and even his allies if the lawlessness of the wild, wild west calls for it. Don't get mad at me. I didn't say this movie was perfect.

Still, for a movie exclusive to a free and ad-supported streaming service, The Thicket pops visually. The cinematography is most often the first thing you notice about a movie, and it's a competently managed aspect in the hands of DP Guillermo Garza. Garza uses natural light in ways that do the scenic beauty of the West justice, blending the white of the winter snow and the darker colors of the remaining scenery in ways evocative of the stunningly gorgeous The Revenant, if not to the same extent. In fact, the only thing more colorful about The Thicket is its cast of eccentric and exciting characters. Juliette Lewis's performance as Cut Throat Bill punches way above the level a free movie should. She's an intimidating outlaw not because she's particularly scary, but rather because she's never particularly scared. Her nonchalance over even the most cold-blooded of acts is terrifying, and if this cast is colorful, Bill is blood-red.

On the protagonist's side of the ball, Peter Dinklage's portrayal of the bounty hunter Reginald Jones is at once both amusing and no-nonsense. Dinklage sells the role completely despite being an immediately recognizable actor, blending into the fictional world with a performance that almost does enough to cover over his unmistakable star power. Rounding out this cast is a brief but impressive appearance by Jon Bernthal, whom some of you may recognize from The Walking Dead. His portrayal of Hector, a dangerous pimp with an attitude, is charming and magnetic in the most toxic of ways. I wanted to punch his face, not because I hated him so much as I was worried I was starting to like him. As narratively empty as The Thicket can be, its characters are eccentric as only those from the purest of western legends can be. But did I mention that this movie was empty?

Despite running less than two hours, The Thicket is still too long. It moves without purpose because it neglects to create enough subplots or sufficiently fill out its middle third. At its worst, the best thing I can compare it to is an open-world video game, a traveling experience with only the most bare-bones of stories stitching it together. Sadly, this movie's many strengths are mainly aesthetic, while its few flaws are unfortunately fundamental. It's a beautiful but familiar journey to a familiar place in a familiar way, and it doesn't give me many reasons to revisit it anytime in the near future. It's not terrible, but when your movie is a western, a small part of one of the most basic and foundational genres there is, it needs to be more than good to be remembered. Still, it's far from time misspent, and from good cinematography to great characters to one impressive use of setup and payoff featuring a rifle that looks like a collaboration between Galileo and the NRA, The Thicket mostly shoots straight.

The Thicket is heavy on character, light on plot - which isn't all a bad thing when your movie is starring both Peter Dinklage and the lead singer of Metallica, though I hope you won't be too disappointed that they don't perform any metal musical numbers, or any numbers at all, for that matter. This movie is just another western, and it struggles to differentiate itself from its genre-mates in ways that do its foundational identity as art any favors. Nevertheless, when your familiar story is populated by characters as interesting as those in The Thicket, you get art that occasionally looks something like a painting. Again, Lewis and Dinklage are the performative standouts of this movie, portraying two different sides of the law in ways too weathered to care, both carving out strong performances that nevertheless remain grounded, even subtle. This movie is like a weekend road trip to a place you've visited time and again, familiar yet comfortable. It's sometimes a dirty story, and your wheels will get muddy, too. Just know it won't be from any dirt you haven't already kicked up before.

The Thicket - 7/10

Isaiah 61:8-9