There are times, particularly in genre films, where reinventing the wheel isn’t necessary or warranted. Sometimes trusting the tropes of the genre and simply telling a good, involving story is enough. The western Old Henry understands this and spins its tale with confidence and style.

The story is simple. Henry is a pig farmer in the Oklahoma Territory of 1906 and a widower raising his 14-year-old son. They lead a dull, placid life. Of course, Wyatt is chomping at the bit to escape. He doesn’t understand why he’s all the way out in the sticks or why Henry won’t let him handle a gun, even for hunting.

Crashing into their relatively domestic and isolated lives is Curry. Severely wounded by a bullet in the shoulder, he is nearly dead when Henry discovers his body and a satchel full of cash nearby. As seen in the beginning, Curry has avoided capture by a posse led by Ketchum, who wears a sheriff’s badge and swiftly delivers his own brutal brand of justice.

Now anyone who’s seen a western can see the plot points coming well ahead of time. It’s a fairly obvious set up with a fairly obvious follow through with one delicious twist added that doesn’t much change the direction of the plot, but it’s pretty faboo nonetheless.

What makes this film a cut above the average genre rehash is the confidence of writer/director Potsy Ponciroli and the uniformly excellent acting. There is nary a bit of fat on this film, and every bit of dialogue serves a purpose. We know that the taciturn Henry has a past, and Ponciroli knows when to bring it up and when to let the father/son conflict take the fore.

On the other end of the scale is Stephen Dorff’s loquacious bad guy Ketchum—there’s a hint of his savagery in the wham-bang opening sequence. He seems genial enough, but you can taste the edge in his voice. Ketchum seems the polar opposite to Henry in every way, and that tension informs the film.

Its main theme is identity. No one is quite who they present themselves to be. Ketchum is in no way a sheriff, Curry is ambiguous in his intentions, and Henry, well, let’s just say he also has a hidden past. That leaves the naïve and earnest Wyatt to suss things out because no one is spelling anything out, which may not be the best way to raise a frontier kid—or maybe it is.

All the performances are first rate. Nelson gives Henry a sad, quiet dignity that bursts into passion when protecting his son, even if Wyatt doesn’t understand that is exactly what his father is doing. Dorff simply has a blast as Ketchum. There’s subtlety in his performance and just enough obvious pleasure in playing the bad guy to give you a chuckle or two until Ketchum’s cold heartedness sours you on him. Scott Haze probably has the most difficult role. His character’s intentions are the most unclear and whose survival is the most directly at threat throughout the film. Haze imbues Curry with an earnestness that belies his predicament. 

Then there is the twist, so perfectly timed it manages to crystallize Henry’s motivations and heighten the stakes without messing with the tone while fitting snugly into the plot and our understanding of the characters. It was so clever and spot-on, I actually stood up and clapped.

Old Henry is a must for lovers of westerns or Tim Blake Nelson and highly recommended for anyone looking for good, solid entertainment.