The Salvation

There are some that would argue that Westerns have gone the way of the dodo - all but extinct. After all, it's one of the oldest genres and has been reinvented, reshaped, revised and rebranded beyond all recognition so that when we see a straight-up Western - like The Salvation - we're almost caught off guard and unsure what to do with it.

Mads Mikkelsen is Jon, a humble Danish soldier who's moved out to the Frontier to begin a new life for his family, whom he has been separated from for roughly seven years. So far, so cliché. Their reunion is, as you'd expect, short-lived as Mikkelsen is literally thrown out of the stagecoach whilst his wife and child are murdered by a drunkard. Mikkelsen quickly dispatches the drunkard, not realising said drunkard is the brother of land baron Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In retribution for this slight, Morgan's character demands blood for blood. The local town, led by Jonathan Pryce, must offer up two souls to Morgan and double his protection money.

Director Kristian Levring, who ironically was one of the signatories of the Dogme95 movement that espoused reductive filmmaking, easily turns his hand to Sergio Leone-esque landscapes and shots. The idea of a Danish / Spaghetti Western definitely raised some eyebrows when it was screened at this year's JDIFF, but The Salvation is conventional in the best way possible. Mikkelsen's performance as the ice-cold, near-mute killer is perfect. Fans of TV's Hannibal will know that Mikkelsen has an air of violence to his performances that's almost palpable. Jonathan Pryce, likewise, brings his years of character acting to bear as the weasel mayor of the crappy town who's too afraid of Jeffrey Dean Morgan's hulking frame to do anything.

It's clear that all concerned are enjoying the process of recreating gritty Westerns for a new audience, but what's frustrating about The Salvation is that it's almost a carbon copy. The fact that Mikkelsen's character is an immigrant is barely referenced. Instead, he's turned into this sword of vengeance without any real sense of what makes him tick. He's just set on a path and that's it. Sure, there's a simplicity to that but we've seen that kind of thing before. Levring's use of sun-drenched vistas, horrifying visuals and nihilist leanings all work well with the setup and, if this was any other director, we'd have a hard time thinking they weren't American.

While The Salvation is a solid, dependable Western with great performances by all, it's just a little bit rote and by-the-numbers. Worth a watch, but only if you haven't seen a Western before.