By John Corrado

★★★ (out of 4)

The 2023 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 7th to 17th, more information on tickets and showtimes can be found right here.

For his second directorial effort, following his underrated 2020 debut Falling, actor Viggo Mortensen sets his sights on making a classical Western. The result is The Dead Don’t Hurt, a slow-burn Western romance that Mortensen stars in as Holger Olsen, a Danish carpenter who meets and falls for French-Canadian florist Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) in San Francisco in the 1860s.

The two settle in the town of Elk Flats, Nevada and start to build a life together, but are separated by Holger’s decision to join the Union in fighting the Civil War. Mortensen’s screenplay employs a non-linear story structure to chart their relationship, which presents these events out of order and begins at what is the end. This fractured narrative is initially somewhat jarring, and the story can feel sluggish at times especially during the 129 minute film’s initial setup. But the choices start to make more sense as it goes along.

This is clearly a project that Mortensen is passionate about, which counts for a lot, and The Dead Don’t Hurt serves as an undeniably ambitious, gorgeously mounted production (the film was shot between British Columbia, Ontario and Mexico). It’s a wholly impressive effort on a technical level, carried by authentic production design of the 1860s town, beautiful landscape cinematography by Marcel Zyskind, and a moving original score by Mortensen himself.

The film also features strong performances from Mortensen and Krieps, who is in many ways the heart of the film, portraying Vivienne as both love interest and headstrong frontier woman. Even if it takes some time to reveal itself, I imagine this one will age like fine wine. Mortensen’s film almost feels like an elegy for the Western genre, building to a poignant final scene.

Public Screenings: Friday, September 8th, 6:15 PM at Princess of Wales; Sunday, September 10th, 9:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre; Thursday, September 14th, 1:00 PM at Scotiabank Theatre; Friday, September 15th, 8:15 PM at Scotiabank Theatre