Of his numerous on-screen credits there is one that America’s dad Tom Hanks has yet to venture into, and with his latest film News of the World, he takes the leap into the most dad-ish of genres: the Western. Re-teaming with Captain Phillips director Paul Greengrass, the duo manage to create a classically structured Western that feels perfectly placed within the genre, whilst also packing in the action and an emotionally aware lead that eluded many Western’s of old. As with all Greengrass films, the social commentary is ever-present and hits hard when it needs to, with real-life parallels almost too easy to draw after a certain President’s recently (and thankfully) ended term. The odd-couple dynamic between Hanks and newcomer Helena Zengel anchors the well paced story and brings an optimistic outlook to an otherwise desolate, divided America, with a surprising amount of emotion and tension drawn from Hanks’ commitment to his journey and the dangers of the wild west.
In what is a role fitting of his über nice guy reputation, Hanks plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a reformed member of the Confederate army who travels the country delivering news to the local townspeople from newspapers spanning the local area to international crises. Think a kind of old-school personal Twitter, complete with outrageous reactions from the crowds albeit with less racist tirades from a certain leader of the country. When he happens upon a destroyed wagon on the way to his next stop, Kidd discovers Johanna (Zengel), a young German girl raised by the Native Americans of the Kiowa tribe after a terrible tragedy befell her parents. After his attempts to offload the girl to local authorities prove futile, Kidd takes it upon himself to transport Johanna to her last remaining relatives – an aunt and uncle living hundreds of miles away. As he and Johanna travel the country, spreading the news and bonding as he attempts to teach her English, they are confronted by multiple dangers; from giant sandstorms to radicalised towns of soldiers that wish the pair ill fortune.
What differentiates News of the World from other films of its ilk is just how fleshed out and multi-layered Hanks’ Captain Kidd is. This is not your typical lone gunman journeying across the wild west on a quest for revenge, but rather a deeply damaged man whose vocation and journey are borne from personal tragedy and the sins of his past. Unlike a John Wayne character, Kidd feels remorse for his actions, using violence as a last resort in his mission to transport Johanna to her family and mulling over his decisions for days after the encounters. It isn’t a particular stretch for Hanks to hit these high emotional notes. We’ve seen it before in the devastating finales of Captain Phillips and Philadelphia, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive to watch one of the greatest actor’s of all time do his thing. A more subdued role this go around maybe – in a time where men shared their feelings privately and not often – but Hanks manages to maintain that gruff, weathered exterior while still breaking the audience’s heart and forcing the tissues to come out.
His performance wouldn’t be as effective if it weren’t for the other half of this odd couple pairing: Helena Zengel. As the Kiowa-raised, non-English speaking Johanna, she is forced to communicate mainly through facial expressions and exasperated tantrums, a character trait that might start out as mildly annoying but becomes increasingly understandable as you learn more about the young girl’s tragic past. For any actor to hold their own with such a formidable talent as Hanks is impressive in its own right, but for a child with the experience that Zengel possesses is revelatory, a true talent whose star shines bright; comparable to Hailee Steinfeld’s breakout role in the Coen Brothers’ True Grit. While News of the World doesn’t attempt to follow the violent storyline of that particular remake, it does pack its fair (and admittedly surprising) share of action. Audiences who don’t consider themselves fans of the sometimes slow pacing of classic Westerns will likely be surprised here by the tumultuous journey Kidd and Johanna endure; barrelling between battles with bandits in tense shootouts to the aforementioned sandstorm as well as some lighter moments. The effects might fall short of the standards audiences have become used to in 202, but the heart of the film remains: Kidd lives his life spreading the news to others, but in committing himself to Johanna’s fate learns more about the world and himself than he ever could from newspapers.
News of the World is a departure from the norm for both Tom Hanks and Paul Greengrass and the journey into the different proves fruitful for everyone involved, especially the audience. Full of heart with a genuinely enthralling relationship between Hanks’ Captain Kidd and Helena Zengel’s fierce Johanna this is a Western that bucks the trends of the genre to deliver action, social commentary and emotion in spades, all the way to its heartstring-pulling conclusion. If you need a break from the constant barrage of terrible news in the real world at the moment, why not invest in News of the World?
News of the World stars Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Ray McKinnon & Bill Camp – Streaming on Netflix now.