Tubi
After seeing Peter Dinklage steal scenes in two of the 1990s goofiest indie comedies, Tom Dicillo's "Living in Oblivion" and John Hamburg's "Safe Men," I had a feeling he was on the cusp of a breakthrough. So it was no surprise when he earned plaudits and numerous awards nominations (though not, mystifyingly, from the Oscars) for his textured portrayal of a New Jersey man who loves trains and could do without people, largely due to the way they react to his dwarfism, in Tom McCarthy's 2003 humanistic dramedy "The Station Agent." When Dinklage's efforts to open up lead to an upsetting moment in a bar, he erupts. "Here I am! Take a look!" As Roger Ebert wrote in his review, "And that is the moment you realize there is no good reason why Peter Dinklage could not play Braveheart."
Over the last 23 years, Dinklage has played a stunningly wide assortment of characters. His portrayal of Tyrion Lannister in "Game of Thrones" netted him eight Primetime Emmy Award nominations and four wins. He gooped it up as the protagonist of Macon Blair's remake of "The Toxic Avenger," showed off his romantic leading man chops as the lovesick title character in Joe Wright's "Cyrano," and was touching as Frances McDormand's would-be suitor in Martin McDonaugh's "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri."
One of his more recent performances that didn't get a lot of attention was his turn as bounty hunter Reginald Jones in Elliott Lester's rugged Western "The Thicket." Made by Tubi Films, the movie did receive a theatrical release; alas, despite scoring an 80% with critics at Rotten Tomatoes, it didn't get much of a promotional push. Now, however, it's the 10th most viewed movie at Netflix, where people can discover there's much more to this film than Dinklage's fine performance.
Peter Dinklage and Juliette Lewis face off in The Thicket
Tubi
Based on the novel of the same title by the prolific and typically great Joe R. Landsdale ("Bubba Ho-Tep," "Cold in July"), "The Thicket" opens with Jack (Levon Hawke) and Lula Parker (Esme Creed-Miles) losing their father to smallpox. Now orphaned, the pair are sent to live with their Aunt in Kansas, but their journey is interrupted by a run-in with outlaw Cut-Throat Bill (an exceptional Juliette Lewis) and her marauding cohorts. Bill kills their grandfather (who's willed 700 acres of Montana land to Jack) and kidnaps Lula. Jack winds up hiring bounty hunter Reginald Jones (Dinklage) and undertaker Eustace Howard (Gbenga Akinnagbe).
"The Thicket" throws a few narrative curveballs that keep the viewer from getting ahead of the plot. One of these twists involves the group joining up with another bounty hunter, Malachi (Macon Blair), who wants to kill Bill for murdering his partner Simon (Metallica's James Hetfield). It's bleak, brutal stuff, but the characters are so deftly drawn that you need to see how it all plays out (even though it often feels like no one's getting out of this conflict alive). Chris Kelley's screenplay gives everyone standout moments, but Lewis is the film's live-wire, a remorseless killer forged by a horrifically abusive childhood. "The Thicket" keeps reminding us that humankind excels at creating monsters, and Bill's only dishing out what she never deserved. After her stellar run on "Yellowjackets," can we please get more Juliette Lewis in the movies?
"The Thicket" is never rousing or fun, but it has a cold, merciless integrity that would've impressed Sam Peckinpah. So hop on Netflix and check out one of the more underrated movies of the last five years.
English (US) ·