Fred Hechinger is Will Andrews, a minister’s son who leaves Harvard and heads West in search of greater purpose in life.
He winds up in Kansas, hoping to land a job with one of the buffalo hunting parties working for a family friend named McDonald.
When McDonald doesn’t seem eager to take him on and, in fact, warns him against any such endeavor, Andrews hunts down a man named Miller (Nicolas cage) in the local saloon.
He’s a veteran buffalo hunter, a man who scoffs at working for someone like McDonald, a man who spotted a great herd of buffalo in the mountain valleys of Colorado years earlier and has always yearned to return.
Miller offers to take Andrews along, if he’ll cough up the $500 needed to finance the trip. Andrews hesitates just a moment, then jumps at the opportunity.
And so they begin the arduous trip to Colorado, accompanied by Miller’s longtime assistant Charlie Hoge (Xander Berkeley) and reluctant skinner Fred Schneider (Jeremy Bobb).
Eventually, Miller finds his herd. And the killing begins.
Arnold, excited at spotting the herd, thrilled by his own first kill, has a change of heart when he realizes Miller is determined to kill every buffalo he sees, even when they already have more skins than they can possibly take back for sale.
But the real trouble comes when winter sets in, trapping four men who are already arguing with one another in the Colorado mountains for months as they await the arrival of spring.
Fred Hechinger as Will Andrews, arriving in Kansas eager for the adventure ahead in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Nicolas Cage as Miller, telling Will Andrews about the great herd of buffalo he’s seen in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Review:
Director Gabe Polsky does a decent job of conveying the wastefulness of the buffalo hunting trade. Any animal lover will surely cringe at Miller’s desire to kill as many defenseless animals as he can.
On the other hand, Polsky might have bitten off more than he could chew in the film’s 105-minute runtime. The trek to Colorado is supposed to be perilous. The winter spent in the mountains even more so.
Both go by in a heartbeat here. And you never feel as though the four traveling companions are in serious danger, at least not from the elements.
Meanwhile, wolves are seen, but never attack. Indians are talked aobut, but never seen. Will frets the buffalo will go crazy and turn on their hunters. They never do.
That leaves the focus on the psychological development of the four travleing companions and their relationships with one another.
Miller becomes obsessed with the idea of returning to Butcher’s Crossing with the biggest kill ever. He’s determined to wipe out an entire herd.
His traveling companions, skinner Schneider in particular, lose patience with his obsession, especially once they’re trapped for the winter. The older Charlie despises Schneider, which further complicates matters.
As for young Will — he’s first thrilled by the sights and the experience the hunt offers. After skinning hundreds of buffalo, being covered in their blood and watching their remains rot in the sun, his thinking changes.
Searching for greater purpose in life, he instead learns a lesson in man’s cruelty and greed.
Xander Berkeley as Charlie Hoge, Miller’s superstitious longtime associate in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Directed by:
Gabe Polsky
Cast:
Nicolas Cage .. Miller
Fred Hechinger … Will Andrews
Jeremy Bobb … Fred Schneider
Paul Raci … McDonald
Xander Berkeley … Charlie Hoge
Rachel Keller … Francine
Zuzu Weingart … Maggie
Also with: Amber Rose Mason, Harper Hofstad, Beckett Hofstad, Duncan Vezain,
Gabriel Clark
Runtime: 105 min.
Paul Racci as hide trader McDonald doles out advice to Will Andrews in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Rachel Keller as Francine, the whore, introduces herself to Will Andrews in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Memorable lines:
McDonald to Will: “You start going out with those men (buffalo hunters), it’ll ruin you. It’ll get in you. Like buffalo lice. You’ll be rotting from the inside.”
Will: “Why fear God?”
Charlie Hoge: “You’ll see. You’ll see.”
Fred Schneider to Miller: “You can’t kill every god damned buffalo in the whole god damned country.”
Nicolas Cage as Miller, ready to gun down another buffalo in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Fred Hechinger as Will Andrews, finding his attitude about the hunt changing in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Will, surveying the remaining few dozen buffalo: “Miller, do buffalo ever go crazy?”
Fred Schneider: “If you’re gonna kill a man, you oughta give him a lethal dose, Charlie. Cause dyin’ by degrees makes a man suspicious.”
Miller to his traveling companions as they begin the trek back: “I’m gonna ride into Butcher’s Crossing with the real load and watch their eyes pop out of their heads.”
Xander Berkeley as Charlie Hoge, fearful of the way the hunt is going and suspicious of one of his partners in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Jeremy Bobb as Fred Schneider, angered when the expedition is trapped by winter weather in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Fred Hechinger as Will Andrews and Nicolas Cage as Miller reacting to a change in fortune in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
Fred Hechinger as Will Andrews, looking out over a field of dead buffalo his partner has killed in Butcher’s Crossing (2022)
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