‘Hostiles’ Trailer

The modern trend towards gritty realism doesn’t play well with a whole lot of genres, but it’s a godsend for the Western. Unflinching depictions of the violence and mercilessness of the American frontier are a welcome twist on one of the mainstays of cinema. We’re talking 3:10 to Yuma, Bone Tomahawk, and the True Grit remake. Hostiles looks to be the newest example of the update for the genre, starring Christian Bale as the reluctant escort of a Native American chief and his family. The trailer doesn’t give too much away, beyond showing a lot of blue uniformed federal troops out West somewhere, but one thing it does make a point of is how isolated people are in the Wild West. There aren’t many people you can count on for help of any kind, and someone’s as likely to burn your house down as they are to share dinner with you. Maybe both.