News of the World

RATING: C+

This was one of the few semi-major releases of 2020 to keep its release date. That might have been because, despite being a Paul Greengrass directed-piece starring Tom Hanks, it wasn't going to be a blockbuster or anything and it had a low budget (probably most of which was spent on snagging Hanks, considering the lack of any other known names on the cast list)--it may have cost more than it would've been worth to delay it repeatedly/indefinitely. 

A neo-western drama/historical fiction piece, News of the World takes place a few years after the Civil War. One former army member from the south (Captain Jefferson Kidd) makes a living reading newspapers to town populaces, going from place to place--apparently, this is actually a lucrative venture due to it being a time when a good number of people were too busy to study the newspapers that much. 

Despite him reading the "news of the world" and that being the title of the movie, that's not really the centerpiece of the plot. That happens when he is en-route to another town when he stumbles upon an abandoned girl, who has been living with the Kiowa after her German-American parents died. Problem is the Kiowa are holed up in Oklahoma (while the story takes place in Texas) and no one seems particularly interested/able in getting her to her "home" in a decent amount of time. Cue a western road trip move of sorts with Kidd and the kid to get her someplace she can be taken care of. 

While the concept may not feel unfamiliar, per se--it's still an interesting story that's helped out by the historic backdrop of the instability of the first several post-Civil War years. As a period piece, this works pretty well. Tom Hanks brings his A-game, as per the usual. And while Helena Zengel (who plays the child Johanna) doesn't seem to be given as much to work with character-wise, she's not half-bad as a newcomer. 

As a result of the instability of the region, there's some obstacles along the road which help lend this movie to adventure territory--namely, would-be-traffickers and a stop in a town run by radical dissenters. The former encounter gives us a shootout which involves some creative ammo. 

The primary problems with this movie come after these encounters. The last third of the movie is surprisingly underwhelming. While there is a resolution of sorts (and a satisfying one at that), there's no real final act/climax--not even on a dramatic level, let alone in the western/adventure territory. The rest of the movie just kind of happens with very little fanfare--quite unusual for something in this genre. I'm not saying we needed another gunfight or whatever, but at least have some sort of noteworthy dramatic conflict to close your story. 

The other problems with this movie revolve around the lack of interesting characters beyond the main two. Everyone else is just a placeholder along their journey, be it for good or for ill. As a result, Tom Hanks is left to pretty much carry the movie by himself. This sort of works, but only to put it into "slightly above average" territory.  

One more positive, however, comes in the direction. Paul Greengrass, while a competent director, does have a reputation for relying on shaky-cam and jump-cuts during more fast-paced scenes. That is nowhere to be found here--this movie is very well filmed, has good cinematography, and never really leaves you with confusion as to what's going on. 

News of the World is nothing special, but it can maintain one's interest if they're into this sort of genre or if they're big fans of Tom Hanks. The movie's big slow-down in the last half-hour or so is what really hurts it--otherwise it might've been a little more memorable. But there's still just enough positives that it doesn't feel like a waste of time.