Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (January 8, 2024)
Over the decades, film pundits have often declared the death of the Western, but the genre never quite fades. For a recent example, we go to 2023’s Butcher’s Crossing.
Set in 1874, young Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) drops out of college and moves to the small Kansas town of Butcher’s Crossing. Enchanted with the notion of the western frontier, Will wants to experience that culture.
Will joins a buffalo hunt led by Miller (Nicolas Cage), an experienced guide and gunman. This doesn’t follow the path Will expected, and the events push him to the edge in ways both mental and physical.
Now nearly 30 years after his Oscar-winning turn in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas, Cage seems to vary between roles in which he indulges in broad borderline self-parody and those in which he plays things straight. Given the subject, I figured Crossing would lean toward Serious Nic, but I also could see how Cage might go for broke instead.
The end result falls somewhere between those poles. While it doesn’t present Unhinged Nic, he also doesn’t go for true realism.
Still, I’ll take the semi-restrained Cage on display here over the self-parody he often exhibits. 20 years ago, I loved Cage but between his lean toward over-acting and a bunch of bad choices, I lost a lot of that affection.
At no point does Crossing threaten to become one of Cage’s best films, but it offers a more legitimate drama than much of his 21st century work. We get a predictable but reasonably sturdy Western.
Albeit one with a lot of precursors. The notion of an obsessed man fixated on a specific quest doesn’t seem vaguely fresh, as many properties followed this same plot.
We can see a lot of Captain Ahab in Miller. He feels determined to eliminate as many buffalo as he can, and this fixation proves his downfall.
Spoiler? Not really, as it becomes clear that Miller will destroy all he touches. Stories like this don’t come with happy endings.
Crossing gives us a more than credible rendition of its themes, though it could use better character development. Miller, Will and the rest never evolve beyond basic archetypes.
Still, the journey turns reasonably compelling, and Cage seems more invested than usual. He occasionally veers toward Campy Nic but he nonetheless adds decent power to his role.
If nothing else, I appreciate the sight of Cage without a wig. Long devoid of a full mane, Cage usually sports bad hairpieces, so I appreciate his shaved head here.
Nothing about Crossing excels or delivers a great Western. Still, it becomes moderately engaging.
