Montana
Haley Lu Richardson in her latest movie called “Montana Story” is quite an astonishing watch and, as an admirer of strong stories, this one also was a truly riveting experience for me. The film is co-directed, co-written and co-produced by David Siegel and Scott McGehee and the result is a film that is crammed with sentiment yet masterfully composed. One cannot expect any less considering the very subject matter encompasses pain, resentment and trauma bottled up inside. But filmmakers know best how to not get carried away and make a soggy mess out of such insightful work. Siegel and McGehee are one such hope.
It is quite unbelievable that “Montana Story” had its world premiere in September last year but has only recently seen a release in the US. It was shot in the late 2020 pandemic, spread across around six weeks in the Paradise Valley in Montana. It is a place that works well with the story’s subdued and sad tone. And the vast open areas (greatly filmed by DP Giles Nuttgens) is more than just this beautiful setting.
The plot involves two siblings who have not been on speaking terms. They choose to return to their family home, which is located in a river valley. They are coming home because their father is extremely ill and is in a comatose state. The second sibling, Cal, who is a civil engineer based in Cheyenne, comes to the ranch with the sole intention of setting his father’s affairs in order.
The first hint of family drama is when Cal decides to visit the family horse which is 25 years old before he goes in to meet the father who is bedridden with a variety of life supporting systems in a separate room. Here, he is looked after by a nurse from hospice called Ace (Gilbert Owuor) and the caretaker, Valentina (Kimberly Guerrero) who has been in the family for a long time.
He ends up having a full plate because it was always going to happen. He finds out that his father was practicing law in a field that sought to help billionaire businesses keep the government at bay. Due to his bad practices, he ended up bankrupt, and had to mortgage the ranch to support his lifestyle. Now Cal is in the position of selling the ranch just to settle his father’s medical debts. And after there was no one left in the family to tend to the horse, Cal is experiencing the most common and dramatic imagery throughout the whole story. He is in a position where he has to call someone to assist them in putting down their family horse.
But Cal is left stunned when his sister Erin (Richardson) shows up without warning. The two were estranged for seven years from the day Erin left home after a devastating event in their family. “I just want to see him one more time,” she says at the edge of control over her anger. And once she received the information regarding Cal’s intentions to euthanize Mr. T, the differences between the siblings come to a head as the trauma of their family background becomes more apparent.
Sometimes “Montana Story ” seems to function as a series of scenes from a modern western (though there are no shootouts or Stetson hats). At other moments, it borders on the parody of that form of art. The movie doesn’t lack in metaphors and has its fair share of metaphors that are hard to ignore while some of the minor characters provide a distinct native viewpoint. And many things enrich the plot Mr. T, the grey Lexus of Carl’s mother, their sweet looking countryside house overshadowed by beautiful mountains. All of these add to the purposeful components that Siegel alongside McGehee successfully deploy.
At its core, the true heart of Cal, Erin and their frayed bond is the story of the film. Richardson and Teague take their roles in a calculated manner and manage to deliver the distinct but interconnected hurt and grudge that their characters bear so well. The roles that both of them gave were fairly restrained and the sense of sibling between them is realistic and natural. In particular, Richardson is very believable in the role of a tough but damaged person.
There were points in the film where I found myself wishing Siegel and McGehee had developed the supporting characters further since most of them had fascinating backgrounds. However, I admire their decision to remain with their two central characters and the themes of trauma, hatred and disappointment between those characters. It is clear why that is the case an explosion of emotions can be expected as a matter of course.
But the movie never saturates itself with the tension either. The narrative is structured in such a way and the performances are colorful enough to create possibilities of reconciliation.
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