The first (and last) time I'd heard about Tommy Lee Jones' feature directorial debut (correction, he previously directed the feature THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA) THE HOMESMAN, was the casting of Tim Blake Nelson. Since then it's been a mum affair, until this surprisingly cool trailer popped up. At first, the trailer seems like it may be just another "on the prarie" kind of introspective western, but as the trailer progresses the film shows real promise as a kind of ode to a Coen brothers film, complete with odd characters, situations, and moral dilemmas. Jones has been in enough westerns throughout his career that he ought to have a good idea on how to make one and judging by this trailer for THE HOMESMAN it appears that he may have hit a home run with his first time up to bat.
Take a look:
Here's the synopsis:
A claim jumper and a pioneer woman team up to escort three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa.
Hilary Swank has been kind of low key of late, although she's proven herself time and again to be a great actress, and this looks like it could be a fine addition to her resume. The supporting cast is pretty great as well, with Jones culling in a lot of new and veteran thesps to join the ranks, including Miranda Otto, James Spader, Tim Blake Nelson, Meryl Streep, Hailee Steinfeld, John Lithgow, William Fichtner, and Jesse Plemons. After this trailer, THE HOMESMAN is definitely a film on my radar and looks to be a fine addition to the genre.
THE HOMESMAN is set to debut sometime in 2014.