This year’s Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) welcomed the UK premiere of Viggo Mortensen’s new Western The Dead Don’t Hurt- written by, directed by, and starring himself.
The welcome was especially warm due to two interactions with the man himself. First, an hour-long In Conversation event before the film, discussing his life and career. Secondly, a Q&A after the film, which also featured Sully McLeod, his Orkney-born co-star. Brig was able to use this moment to ask him a deep-dive question about the film.
Before Brig’s chat, however, there was the film itself.
“We wanted to make a movie that felt like a classic Western”
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a confederacy era Western film, that spends very little time focusing on the war. Instead, it follows the personal battles of Vivienne (Vicky Krieps), our heroine who strives for independence, joy, and love in an era as tough as the land she lives on.
The film spans three-time frames; Vivienne as a child, briefly; Vivienne in adulthood, for most of the film; and Olsen (Viggo Mortensen) after her death, endlessly navigating a world without her.
These three times are intermingled throughout the film, unmarked by dates and locations. Their lives bleed together, allowing for a muddied sense of direction. The audience is forced to feel rather than follow, which is a pleasant experience. Despite this, however, few scenes from Vivienne’s childhood were of much use narratively. It’s her adult life that draws most interest.
Olsen is her companion for the adult part of her life. It is when he leaves to fight for the Union that her life turns sour. Whilst the two are very much co-stars, it is here we really learn that Vivienne is the protagonist.
Instead of following Olsen at war, we stay with Vivienne whilst she navigates life working in a saloon in a mob-controlled town as an independent woman. This is a life full of another kind of war and hardship – yet also full of love.
Similar to the film, in that sense – full of love.
Mortensen clearly put his heart and soul into The Dead Don’t Hurt.
‘What do you think of that?’ ‘What makes it better?’
The score is phenomenal, written by himself before filming even began. Intermingling with the score, is the sound of life around the desert lands. The flies, the dust, and the horses all kicking around in the terrain are immersive. Shutting your eyes, you can hear you are experiencing a Western film.
Visually, it is also believably wild and western. Care and delicacy were put into creating a period-accurate film, and it doesn’t go amiss. Along with the set is the scenery. The American West is a landscape to behold and Mortensen utilises the great sights, resulting in wonderful cinematography and a sense of homeliness.
During the Q&A section, Brig asked Mortensen how he created the truly authentic Western feeling: “I didn’t want it to be a move where you thought ‘Wow, look at the camera work’.
“I wanted every item of clothing, every prop, every object to be realistic from that period of time.
“We’d look at the bar tops, the way it’s worn. Look at the spittoon, asking ‘What do you think of that’? ‘What makes it better?’”
Viggo discussed the “great allies” he worked with, who contributed to Falling, his directorial debut.
“They were looking at photos from Smithsonian Archives. Old photographs of miners and cowboys… just an incredible amount of research.
“With the budget we had, they were still like ‘We are going to make this incredible dress for her’ or this hat, or this shirt. Even the people in the background – all the weapons, everything. We were really careful.
“It was important to me that it looked right, that the language was right. There’s some phrases that characters say… [that] are very much from that time and place.”
He then discussed what he learned from, and what his key focus was on making it feel like a Western.
“A lot of times you’ll see movies that can be good, made in the 50s or 60s. I can see the way their hair is cut or the way their trousers are, the way their hats are, that they are from that period [it was filmed in]. You can see they thought it was fashionable.
“We just wanted to make it look right with a great cast. That was the checklist.
“We wanted to make a movie that felt like a classic Western, that was one, that is one- hopefully, some day someone will say ‘Oh, did you see that [The Dead Don’t Hurt]?”
Aside from creating the film, Mortensen’s acting was – as always – stellar. McLeod was a villain we could easily root against, whilst still being interested in his tale. The real star, however, was Kreips. Charming, compassionate and passionate, Kreips character was a true hero amidst it all. Her performance was similarly inspirational.
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a passion project with the technical brilliance to back it up. It’s not one to miss at this year’s GFF.
Feature image credit: Shout! Studios
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Twitter/X and BlueSky: @AlexPaterson01
