This review was originally part of our coverage for the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

When you enter into a film that stars Nicolas Cage, you’re certain to get a performance that is as distinct as the man himself. We’ve seen it recently in the melancholic experience of the sublime Pig or the maddening genre mashup that is Prisoners of the Ghostland. Cage is a one-of-a-kind screen presence whose intensity, when part of a well-constructed work, always makes his movies ones to watch. He is more than capable of transcending the meme status he has gained in popular culture through his enduring commitment to the craft.

That makes the letdown of Butcher’s Crossing, one of two westerns that see Cage taking on the genre for the first time, all the more of a disappointment. Adapted from the novel of the same name by the late John Williams, it is a film that is defined by the solid work of Cage and the rest of the cast who are subsequently done a disservice by the rest of the presentation. Even as all the pieces are there to make for a compelling cinematic experience about the perils of the west and the insidious forces of greed, the execution is so lacking that it collapses in on itself. When further compromised by rather poor sets, effects, and sound design, the film can’t emerge out of the shadow of works that have told this story far better.

This all begins when the fresh-faced and naive college drop-out Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger) makes his way to the town of Butcher’s Crossing in the hopes of undertaking his own hunting party. He is mostly in for a sense of adventure and will dangle the potential profit of the value of buffalo hides that dominated the 1870s era to get others to accompany them. He stumbles upon the bald, pipe-smoking Miller (Cage) at the saloon who claims to know where there is a large herd that no one else knows about. Will agrees to finance the operation which grows to include the religious-minded Charley Hoge (Xander Berkeley) who has lost part of his arm and the more skeptical Fred Schneider (Jeremy Bobb) who will help them skin the hides on the hunt. After some rushed set-up, the posse will take off and discover that this expedition will be more challenging than any of them could have foreseen.

For much of the film, there is the prevailing sense that it is almost following in the footsteps of the outstanding Kelly Reichardt western Meek’s Cutoff that itself had shown at TIFF more than a decade ago. Both are more revisionist in their take on the genre, slowly pulling back the curtain on what life like this was really like for those who risked everything to undertake it. However, it is as if all the subtlety and nuance had been stripped from that film to make a cinematic skeleton that could only barely hold together. Much of it is defined by repetition in a way that, while meant to hammer home the looming sense of the madness that threatens to consume the characters, lacks any real sense of texture to its tension.

Cage Is Better Than ‘Butcher’s Crossing’
Image via TIFF

It turns a film that could and should have been much more focused into one that feels oddly bloated. Many scenes drag on for far too long and only end up robbing the more impactful ones of their impact when they get truncated. There are rather significant changes made to the story from the book that try to instill some sort of additional conflict to keep us engaged. Not only does this not work, but it also ends up minimizing the more somber and sinister darkness of the source material. It serves to sensationalize what was more grounded and horrifying because of its simplicity. It proves that some stories work best on the page.

What proves to be the closest thing the film has to salvation are the scenes where the cast actually gets time to sink their teeth into the characters. While there are many lines that Cage delivers with an appropriate sense of grit and anger, the moments where he is silent are just as significant. In many ways, they feel mountains more memorable because of what is left unspoken as we get to see the man burrow into the souls of his fellow hunters with a piercing stare. Even when many pieces of dialogue ring hollow and risk falling into being a parody of itself, he elevates them with how confidently he carries himself while delivering them.

While he is not as showy or loud as Cage, seeing Bobb alongside him is also a high point. A character actor who has been great in everything from The Knick to Russian Doll, he just immerses himself so thoroughly into the role that it becomes almost mesmerizing. There is not a moment where he isn’t completely convincing, doing wonders for a story that often struggles to make do with so-so effects and noticeable dubbing. It makes every moment feel tiresome as the illusion is broken far too often. Just as the characters get lost on the expedition, the actors themselves are left with little to cling to despite all of their best efforts.

This is unfortunate as the thematic aspirations are intriguing, though they are so blunt that they only become muddled in the brutality. Seeing the way Hechinger captures the youthful obviousness of his character that molds him into a more beaten-down man makes for an intriguing core, though the rest of the experience meanders far too much. It ends up being too busy to the point of being scattershot with some scenes even feeling oddly out of sequence and superficial as a result. There is a rich story to be found within this film, but we never get the chance to see it fully excavated here as there is a sense that it only just scratched the surface of the story. For all it aspires to say about the foolhardy nature of those seeking purpose in the west, Butcher’s Crossing lacks the patience to follow through when it counts.

Rating: C-

The Big Picture

Nicolas Cage’s performance in Butcher’s Crossing is solid, but the film fails to live up to its potential due to poor execution and lackluster visuals. The movie suffers from scenes that drag on too long and changes to the original story that only serve to detract from the somber and sinister tone. Despite its flaws, the film’s strongest moments come from the cast’s performances, particularly Cage and Jeremy Bobb, who bring depth to their characters despite the film’s shortcomings.

Butcher’s Crossing is in theaters now. Click here for showtimes near you.