From the moment the cinematic titan that was Michael K. Williams comes onto the screen in the perpetually grim yet frequently gorgeous revisionist Western that is Surrounded, it is as if the whole world fades away for us to get one final glimpse of his greatness. Just as was the case in every layered performance he gave in a life that was cut tragically short, there is a gravity to him that grabs hold of you and doesn’t let go. Be it in the way his piercing eyes stare into your very soul or how his gravelly voice echoes through the darkness of the night, just getting to observe Williams bring life to one more character is mesmerizing. Though the story follows another figure, Letitia Wright’s Moses ‘Mo’ Washington, he represents the best of what this meandering meditation on violence wrapped in a gruesome thriller has to offer.
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Set in 1870’s America five years after the end of the Civil War, we first meet Mo as she wanders into a community where the brutality that defines the country is still evident in an extended tracking shot. A former Buffalo Soldier pretending to be a man, she is looking to just keep her head down and find a way to get safe passage west to build a life on land for which she now has the papers. She finds this in an eclectic group who are soon setting out on a stagecoach and, after she reluctantly gives up her gun, allows her to sit on the back with the luggage. For those who have seen any Western ever, it is clear from the outset that this journey is not going to be a smooth one. Almost immediately, the rickety wagon on which Mo was riding is attacked by the infamous outlaw Tommy Walsh (Jamie Bell) and his band of men. Fighting soon breaks out, resulting in the first of many bodies that the film will pile on higher and higher. It will fall to Mo to watch over Tommy at an enormous tree until her fellow survivors return with a posse to collect his bounty. She will have to use her wits in order to survive almost entirely alone in a world where almost everyone is seeking to kill her.

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‘Surrounded’ Hinges on Letitia Wright’s Determined Performance
Image via MGM

Drawing inspiration from both cinematic and American history, with the real Buffalo Soldier Cathay Williams serving as a loose point of reference for Mo, the film is best when it lets its cast take the reins. While Wright has become most known for her work in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe, it is the focused performance she gives in this film that really shows off her abilities to truly carry a story. Similar to last year’s The Silent Twins, she plays a character of few words whose eyes speak volumes. Written by Andrew Pagana and Justin Thomas with Wright in mind, it all hangs on her every move to keep moving forward.

When juxtaposed against Bell, whose Tommy fluctuates between unbridled rage and sinister deception, Wright is the grounding point to the entire experience. It is hard to imagine the film working nearly as well as it does without her holding it together. You believe every moment where Mo is staring down death in how Wright captures the character’s steely determination to survive the relentlessly hostile world. In some breathtaking overhead shots, the beautiful vastness of the landscape is made almost suffocating. Directed by Anthony Mandler, whose previous film Monster grappled with similar themes in a vastly different era, it makes the most of the space even as there are some effects here and there that leave much to be desired.

Where things start to get a little shaky is in how the narrative seems unwilling to just sit with this feeling. An early scene where Mo attempts to go find the remnants of the stagecoach that crashed results in a conflict with a group of Indigenous men that, while complicated by its conclusion, feel like throwaway characters. The film brings an awareness of the tropes of the genre, especially in terms of who is made central to these types of stories, but this is an instance where it falls headfirst into them all the same. Even when it drags itself back out of them, the process in which it does so is often fraught — teetering on the edge of becoming lost in so-so action and contrivances as opposed to more earned thematic tension.

Michael K. Williams Steals One Final Scene in ‘Surrounded’
Image via MGM

That said, any reservations vanish when Williams enters into the story. Though it is a small role which is painfully brief, he alters the trajectory of the story by the power of his presence alone. Discussing his character requires a great degree of withholding, but Williams makes him into a memorable one. Not only does he provide a surprising injection of humor, there is a menace to him that is hidden in the light mirth. His character walks up upon the tree late at night, offering help and support that breaks up the many threats. Though Mo wants someone to trust and Williams brings plenty of charm to the role, there are moments where you catch sight of signs that he may not be who he says he is. Unfortunately, the writing ends up being less subtle than the performance and culminates in a clunky reveal that undercuts itself. Just as he would often do throughout his career, Williams makes the character into something more than what was on the page. In another world, we could’ve seen a movie just about him.

The scene is central to the story and, in many ways, the film would have benefited from sitting with it for far longer than it did. Much of this stems from a desire to see Williams for as much as it would be possible to prolong his final film role. However, having more patience would have also served the story and the growing tension of the experience. The discussion the two characters have about how to survive and get what they need is a dynamic one. Alas, just as remains the case with Williams being taken from this world, there was so much more for him to do in this role had he been given the proper room to do so. He was and will always be an infinite talent who felt like he was only just getting started in showing what he could do.

While the film around him is not nearly as vibrant and can only hold a candle to his brilliance that shines even in brevity, there is still much that proves to be gripping despite the many missteps it makes along the way. Wright carries the film on her shoulders, pushing through to what is a bit of a conventional conclusion where the pieces not only don’t come together, but don’t carry the same weight as the journey to get there. It invites more interesting readings, but is also a basic survival thriller that can feel like it is hitting you over the head with a rock as opposed to letting the moments in search of serenity linger. There are layers of complexity in both Wright’s performance and that of the late Williams which elevate the experience, making for a sturdy enough riff on the Western that still could have been so much more.

Rating: B-

Surrounded is on VOD today.