Montana Story

Greetings again from the darkness. Watching two of our most talented young actors do their thing within the framework of old-fashioned storytelling and a breathtaking geographic setting is just about as good as it gets in independent filmmaking. The pacing may be a bit slow for some viewers, but the joy here is in watching two actors own their characters and battle through the emotions that tore apart a family.

Co-writers and co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel previously collaborated on WHAT MAISIE KNEW (2012) and BEE SEASON (2005), and are joined this time by co-writer Mike Spreter. We certainly can debate the script's handling of specific moments, but Haley Lu Richardson (OPERATION FINALE, 2018, the underrated COLUMBUS, 2017, SPLIT, 2016, and THE BRONZE, 2015) and Owen Teague (best known for the two recent IT movies, and he's also delivered in two recent films, TO LESLIE and THE COW) are the reason we buy in quickly and stay engaged to the breakthrough.

Cal (Mr. Teague) returns to the ranch where he grew up when he's notified his father has had a stroke and is in a coma on life support. Cal readies the ranch for a bankruptcy sale and tends to the other business issues while Kenyan nurse Ace (Gilbert Ouwor) takes care of the father. Longtime housekeeper Valentina (Kimberley Guerrero, Winona from "Seinfeld") helps when she can, but the ranch itself, including some chickens and an arthritic 25-year-old horse, Mr. T, aren't much better off than Cal's comatose dad. Cal is shocked when he sees that his estranged sister Erin (Ms. Richardson) has returned in order to say goodbye to their dad.

The film is at its best as Cal and Erin (I'm sure it's a coincidence that the EAST OF EDEN siblings were named Cal and Aron) strain to avoid the discussion of what caused the split. It takes a while for us to get the details, but the scene is devastating for both characters, and the actors pull it off beautifully. A single night, seven years ago, blew up a family and led to broken trust and pent-up anger and animosity in Erin, and near debilitating guilt and sadness in Cal. Doing the right thing plays a recurring role here in regards to Erin's high school article, Cal's decision on Mr. T, and their dad's job and actions.

Family relationships can be tainted and forever altered by a traumatic event, and rebuilding that trust requires raw pain and emotion ... and even then, there are no guarantees. Additional supporting work is provided by Eugene Brave Rock and Asivak Koostachin, each of whom bring a touch of humor to their character ("sentimental horsey girl") - or perhaps it just seems that way due to the intensity of Erin and Cal. There is a terrific scene where Cal and Erin 'negotiate' her spontaneous purchase of a pickup and trailer, and the meaning is hard to miss as Erin educates Cal on Dante's circles of Hell in "Inferno". Kudos to rising stars Haley Lu Richardson and Owen Teague for capturing a strained sibling dynamic and showing how trauma can have varying effects. Thanks also to cinematographer Giles Nuttgen (HELL OR HIGH WATER) for the sprawling Montana landscape and mountain vistas. This is a "western" only in the sense that it takes place out west and in near isolation, with most folks only speaking when necessary. It is a kind of showdown between brother and sister, but the weapons are words and memories, not pistols.

If you are looking for a summer blockbuster this is not the movie for you (but you should know this from the tiniest bit of research). If you are looking for an incredibly well acted, incredibly well written, and incredibly well filmed in amazing locations movie that deals with real life this is the movie for you. Every actor and actress is superb. The writing is real and simultaneously sympathetic to characters at many different phases and positions in life. The cinematography is beautiful and appropriate for the themes of the show. It could be called depressing, but I would call it humanist and ultimately uplifting. A fanatic might argue with some of the implied past of the father and how it is presented, but as the movie takes time to point out this isn't really his story. Certainly not a story of any political decisions he made - that is window dressing for an amazingly well told about real families with real issues and how they deal with them.

I had two good reasons to want to see this movie. Back a few years ago we all spent the month of June on vacation in Montana, a beautiful state. And second I love Haley Lu Richardson, she is a really good actress and always a joy to watch. Here she is 25-yr-old Erin who disappeared seven years earlier after some bad family drama. Her half-brother is played by Owen Teague as 22-yr-old Cal (named after Cal Ripkin Jr.). Interestingly both actors were the same ages as their characters during filming.

So their dad, a high-powered lawyer and a tough, seemingly too tough, disciplinarian had a stroke and now is in hospice care, in a coma, barely being kept alive. Both moms are dead and the siblings come for what will likely be the last visit. We can see all the relationships are strained, watching we gradually learn all the things that transpired and led Erin to flee to upstate New York without telling any family members.

This is not a movie for fans of action movies, there is no action. It is a family drama and it plays out very authentically and very well. Of course cinematography takes ample advantage of the scenery, the mountains are grand.

At home on DVD from our public library, we enjoyed the movie.

I love the Copper Pit scene. The conversation between the sister and the Indian boy while he drives her back deeply moved me. The landscape is as expected gorgeous. The scar on the surface is even more unforgettable.

Between its sweeping wide shots of the landscape and its intimate look into family relationships riddled with trauma, "Montana Story" is a force to be reckoned with. A love story to Montana, a love story to family and all its complications - do yourself a favor and check it out!