[Update: The trailer has since been taken offline.]
Fresh off its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, the first trailer for filmmakerScott Cooper’s (Black Mass) hardened WesternHostileshas been released online. The film takes place in 1892 and starsChristian Baleas a legendary Army Captain who reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back home to the tribal lands. Along the way, they encounter a variety of obstacles.
That premise is simple enough, but in the hands of Scott Cooper nothing’s ever that simple. Cooper has shown a knack for telling almost punishingly gritty stories with films likeCrazy Heart,Out of the Furnace, and most recentlyBlack Mass, and here he’s applying his talents to a classical Western in the vein ofJohn Ford. This trailer is pretty phenomenal as it shows off the gorgeous yet haunting imagery (shout out to DPMasanobu Takayanagi) and some very, very distraught and troubled characters. Reviews out of Telluride were strong and the indie is about to screen atthe Toronto International Film Festival, where it’ll no doubt spark a bidding war to see which studio wants to launch an Oscar campaign for the film and, specifically, Bale’s heralded performance. I can’t wait to get a look myself.
Check out theHostilestrailer below. The film also starsRosamund Pike,Adam Beach,Ben Foster,Jesse Plemons, andQ’orianka Kilcher.Hostilescurrently doesn’t have a distributor or release date, but expect that to change very soon, with a likely release date sometime this fall. And check back on Collider next week for our review of the film out of TIFF.
Here’s the official synopsis forHostiles:
Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army Captain (Christian Bale) who, after stern resistance, reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back home to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from New Mexico to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow (Rosamund Pike) whose family was murdered on the plains. Together, they must join forces to overcome the punishing landscape, hostile Comanche, and vicious outliers they encounter along the way.
