Hilary Swank plays Mary Bea Cuddy, an unmarried homesteader living in Nebraska. Following a harsh winter, she takes a job as a 'Homesman' who takes three mentally unstable women to a church in Iowa. Along the way, she enlists the help of George Briggs, a scoundrel and claim jumper played by Tommy Lee Jones, who also directs the film.
I consider this film to be groundbreaking for exploring an issue of Prairie Madness. The harsh living conditions of frontier life combined with the isolated nature could have a poor effect on the mind. I can't think of any other film that has truly explored this.
Cuddy is a great protagonist. She is very strong-willed and independent, but at the same time, she is also feeling the effects of the isolation. Meanwhile, George Briggs is somewhat conflicted. He is reluctant to go on the journey, only agreeing so Mary stops him from being lynched. Even afterwards, he's not willing to stay with her without the promise of a payment. Nonetheless, he goes through some interesting development.
The visuals are dreary, but that's the effect they're going for and it's done well. The shots of the High Plains really hammer in the theme of isolation.
It's a good film with a strong revisionist tone, but a very mean-spirited one. Not one for the faint of heart.
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