Montana
The trailer piqued my interest, but I still did not know what to expect from Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s Montana Story, and so I watched it. The opening scene instantly hooked me into the film and its neo-western aesthetic, as it was quite simply beautiful. Thankfully, it has such quality as everything else in the picture. It can be described as an idealistic work even with rather dull initial moments, making it one of my favorite movies of 2022, at least until this point.
Montana Story is about Cal Thorne (Owen Teague) and his sister Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) whom we learn have had no contact for many years. The two siblings go back to the ranch where they grew up in order to take care of their sick father. As they are trying to work through their troubled family dynamics, they have to deal with a mortgage that is threatening to force them to sell the ranch.
Montana Story, in its entirety, is a great experience and I have no objection to it, however, its beginning let me down a bit. In particular the moment when Cal comes back to the ranch. This section of the movie is almost too much of a prelude waiting for Erin to arrive which is when the real story begins. It succeeds in setting up the plot and provides an insight into a few things about Cal, the ranch, and his father’s sickness, but I was in most instances, especially in this case, more impressed with the images and the environment than those fragments.
After the foundations are laid, the pace intensifies and becomes a lot less tedious. Erin, Sonia’s other sibling, and Cal have had this familial dispute, which is obvious, and the animosity between these two siblings who have not been in contact is quite palpable. How you would correct this onset I do not know, but it is much more improved after this visual.
At the core of it, it is a simple tale about two siblings, and the two feelings they experience throughout the film as they return to the ranch of their childhood. It gets on them so many different emotions that people in the audience who have been away from their houses for considerable periods will understand quite well when they come back.
The primary distinction is that Cal and Erin need to deal with their sick dad, the irreversible loss of the ranch, and the weight of their appearance at the same funeral. Montana Story might be topped with many subtly strong features, but the emotions directed towards the viewers are always bottled and ready to explode.
You will get information about Erin and Cal and how their lives interconnect in Montana Story, and it will be like watching them go through it. That is interesting primarily because we see that these two characters love each other, that they are trying to handle the problems that surround them and deal with each other as well. In the process of how comforting mechanisms and how the relationship is being fractured and repaired, one can sense a distance between the siblings. It is fairly obvious that this has something to do with the father figure and the past he shares with them.
Both of them caused some sort of a chaos and destruction Eric and Cal for both are carrying an emotional bunker of their own which needed to be used for the characters of the respective portrayed artists. Teague knows how to build up Cals discontent in an almost masterfully quiet, tantalizingly restrained manner that is captivating.
Richardson, however, has at times given the impression that she can allow Erin to nearly explode before she restrains her attempts. This makes the occasions in Montana Story whereby she erupts and finally permits herself to be true to her feelings all the more exciting and stress relieving. We have watched her as she builds things, only to finally break and it’s sad to the core. There is no doubt that Richardson, in the normal case, is more out spoken and expressive of her thoughts than Teague but both moments serve the plot and their respective characters very well.
Throughout most of the film, Richardson and Teague are together with Gilbert Owuor who plays an immigrant nurse known as Ace who looks after Cal and Erin’s father. Owuor, like Teague’s character, also portrays a rather understated performance in Montana Story because his character helps the siblings in multiple ways. As a supporting actor in a story that is clearly dominated by two characters, he managed to shine through.
Montana Story comes across as a cohesive piece, both in terms of writing and the performing actors Richardson and Teague. The concept may be a bit shaky at first, but watching these siblings hurl insults and melee with each other only to later try to reconcile feels so genuine. The arguments can be made for the build up and tension between them being felt in every frame, this is all owed to the acting.
In this way, the Thorne siblings are also able to reveal the circumstances that have clouded their pasts, which is an enjoyable resolution for both the characters and the viewers. The movie’s beautiful backdrop, which was active in the narrative and developed the Alaska area during the COVID outbreak, also helps as well. This setting also enhances the plot of the movie because the audience views magnificent scenery. As already noted, first shots of Montana mountains are extreme and storytelling is rich and clearly Montana Story has many of them.
As long as you are able to get through the short introduction, it will be hard not to get a tear or two with the Montana Story which revolves around two siblings. Sustainable emotional drama best describes what told in Montana Story. Erin is played by Haley Lu Richardson who continues to impress in her young career after stunning performances in Columbus (2017) and Support the Girls (2018).
I will also be looking out for Owen Teague considering that he is great in the role of Cal which is a superb performance just like Richardson’s. The wonderful visuals enhance Teague’s and Richardson’s performances, but they are not overshadowed by them. Essentially, all these elements work together to give Montana Story a film that is enjoyable to watch.
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