Parents' Guide to The Thicket

This Western probably could have used more space to dig a little further into some of its characters, but, even as-is, it's a gorgeous, rousing movie focused on two fascinatingly damaged souls. Based on a 2013 novel by Joe R. Lansdale—whose work also provided the basis for the cult classic Bubba Ho-Tep and the superb crime movie Cold in July—The Thicket begins with an indelible image. Lulu has just picked a small bouquet of winter flowers when a strange masked figure roars by on a motorcycle, nearly hitting her. Even though this is the Old West, motor vehicles are in the margins. As in The Wild Bunch, they signal the end of the wildness, freedom, and promise of the frontier as modern civilization approaches.

The movie's two central characters, Reginald and Bill, are also both approaching the end of something. Even though they're on opposite sides of the law, they're both tired and both looking for some kind of belonging. Dinklage and Lewis are electrifying in their roles. Dinklage wears years of experience and pain in his hardscrabble face and brimming eyes, while Lewis rasps her pessimistic dialogue with hard-won authority. In one scene, when her band robs a general store, she gets a rare moment of pleasure looking over the candy counter for some licorice ("I cain't have no hard candy"). And director Elliott Lester crafts a glorious widescreen frame dappled in snow, adding to the sense of despair, but also a sense of beauty, of December. It would have been nice for Jack and Lula to have been a bit more rounded out: Lula seems to be the symbol of what both Reginald and Bill are looking for (purity? beauty?), while a budding romance is set up for Jack and Jimmy Sue that doesn't really catch fire. Moreover, Metallica lead singer James Hetfield is on board as a hired gun with only a few scenes; maybe he signed on for a bigger role that was subsequently cut down? Regardless, The Thicket is an absorbing movie that Western fans won't want to miss.