Old Henry (2021)

Tim Blake Nelson is Henry, a grizzled farmer who finds a wounded man in fields near his home, with a six-gun and a satchel of money nearby.

He mutters “nope” when he finds the money, but winds up carting all three back to the home he shares with his son Wyatt (Gavin Lewis).

Wyatt’s a youngster eager for adventure, bored by life on his dad’s farm, chafing under the protection of a father who won’t even let him handle a gun.

When the wounded man (Scott Haze as Curry) comes to, he claims to be a lawman, ambushed by members of the outlaw gang he was pursuing, but able to make off with the loot they had stolen.

Then three men ride up, including a man named Ketchum (Steven Dorff), identifying himself as the lawman on the hunt for a bandit named Curry.

Henry isn’t sure who to trust at first. But questioning Curry while removing a bullet from the wounded man’s shoulder, he decides his story is the more convincing of the two.

Then he sets about defending his home and, in the process, reveals a past more violent than his son ever would have suspected.

Tim Blake Nelson, in his first encounter with Ketchum in Old Henry (2021)

Gavin Lewis as Wyatt, a son in a moment of defiance against his father in Old Henry (2021)

Review:

A somber, well-done, no-nonsense film that’s far superior to most of the Westerns being made in the 21st Century.

Tim Blake Nelson, also star of 2016’s “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” turns in a fine performance as a man who’s top priority is protecting his ungrateful teenage son from his own violent past.

It’s also a violent film. In fact, it’s Ketchum’s sadistic questioning of a wounded man that helps draw viewers into the story.

Trace Adkins has a small role as Henry’s brother-in-law, a man who apparently knows of his past, but won’t share what he knows, even at the point of death.

There’s a twist that might make you groan near the end. But when the credits roll, it’ll be hard for fans of the genre not to appreciate, for a change, a Western that’s truly well done.

Scott Haze as Curry, wounded and taking refuge at the Henry farm in Old Henry (2021)

Stephen Dorff as Ketchum, seeking a man and his money in Old Henry (2021)

Directed by:
Potsy Ponciroll

Cast:
Tim Blake Nelson .. Henry
Scott Haze … Curry
Gavin Lewis … Wyatt
Trace Adkins … Al
Stephen Dorff … Ketchum
Max Arciniega … Stilwell
Brad Carter … Branigan
Kent Shelton … Gunslinger
Richard Speight Jr. … Dugan

Runtime: 99 min.

Max Arciniega as Stilwell, one of Ketchum’s henchmen in Old Henry (2021)

Tim Blake Nelson, laying down rules of engagement for the fight to come to his son in Old Henry (2021)

Memorable lines:

Henry to his son Wyatt: “You get into my things again, I will crack your crust.”

Henry to Ketchum: “You got the wrong pig by the ear.”

Wyatt to his father: “You’re a stupid, worthless old man. A whole life and nothing to show for it but this run-down old farm and a boy who’s going to leave you alone to die as soon as he’s able.”

Al: “You have no idea, the hellstorm you’re fixin to let loose.”

Trace Adkins as Al, beaten but still mum about Henry’s past in Old Henry (2021)

Tim Blake Nelson as Henry, rifle ready for trouble in Old Henry (2021)