Those Who Wish Me Dead

 

Taylor Sheridan has become a unique voice recent filmmaking with such strong turns with the likes of Sicario, Hell or High Water, Wind River, and the fantastic Paramount Network series Yellowstone. So, when I heard he was teaming up with Angelina Jolie for the wilderness set thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, I was very intrigued. While the film isn't as strong as some of Taylor's other efforts, it still stands as a intense thriller elevated by the writing and a very capable cast. 

Hannah Faber (played by Angelina Jolie) is a Smokejumper who is still struggling to recover from the trauma of being unable to save three campers and a fellow smokejumper during an intense forest fire. Now, she is posted in a fire watch tower in Park County, Montana. Meanwhile, forensic accountant Owen Casserly (played by Jake Weber) learns of the sudden death of his boss and boss' family in an apparent gas explosion at home. Correctly suspecting foul play, he packs up his son Connor (played by Finn Little) and hits the road looking to take refuge with his brother-in-law Ethan (played by Jon Bernthal), a Sheriff Deputy and Hannah's ex. Hot on Owen and Connor's trail are a pair of assassins, Jack Blackwell (played by Aiden Gillen) and Patrick Blackwell (played by Nicholas Hoult), who are able to quickly figure out where the two are headed and are there waiting when Owen and Connor are driving on a mountain road headed for Ethan's house. The resulting ambush causes Owen to crash the car. Knowing there is no escape, Owen instructs Conner to run before the assassins see him. Staying out of sight, Conner escapes and follows a creek which winds up leading him directly to Hannah, who is out on patrol of the area. It's not long before the two assassins discover Connor was in the car too and move to pursue the kid on the order of their boss, Arthur Phillip (played by Tyler Perry). In an effort to try and keep the police and other emergency services occupied, Jack uses several road flares to start a forest fire. After re-grouping with Connor at her Fire Watch Tower, she decides to take him on a hike back to town to meet with Ethan and the authorities only to discover not only are they cut off by a now massive forest fire but that the assassins are near as well leading to a tense stand off between Hannah, Connor and two trained killers in the midst of a raging forest fire. 

The film was directed by Taylor Sheridan from a script by Sheridan, Charles Leavitt and Michael Koryta and is based on Michael Koryta's novel of the same name. The filmmakers manage to elevate the rather familiar material by focusing on the characters that occupy their story and giving them more dimension. This approach also adds tension to the story as the film makes us care about these characters and by extension want to see them make it out alive as they face threats both human and otherwise (the raging forest fire). The filmmakers do also keep the action of the film grounded, which adds to the tension as we have our main characters having to rely on their wits to survive against two lethal killers. Our intrepid heroes do prove adept at that as well, including an unexpectedly inventive use of bear mace that really impressed me. All of this helps patch over the film's well-worn plot that aside from a couple twists feels pretty well-worn, especially for anyone who has seen films like Cliffhanger or The River Wild. The film also relies on some rather unconvincing CGI for the fire effects that I could not help but find a bit distracting. 

The film has assembled an impressive cast led by Angelina Jolie. Jolie does a great job as Hannah showing her character's struggles overcoming past trauma as well as her more adventurous side that includes some daredevil antics early in the film. Finn Little does well as Connor, portraying his character's inherent vulnerability as well as his resourcefulness. Aiden Gillan and Nicholas Hoult add some more dimension and personality to their characters than is usual for these types of films. They are still nasty villains, but they also feel a bit more fleshed out and real characters too. Medina Senghore, who plays Ethan's wife Allison, easily steals her scenes in a supporting role and is someone who turns out to be far more resourceful and formidable than she may appear to be.  

Overall, Those Who Wish Me Dead is a reasonably satisfying action thriller. The plot is very straightforward and well worn, but the cast certainly elevates things. Since a good thriller lives or dies by it's characters the fact that this one works as well as it does owes a lot to it's cast and giving us characters we can either root for or long to see defeated. So, by that merit the film worked for me. I knew where it was going, but the film still managed to keep me on the edge of my seat throughout nonetheless. It's a fairly routine thriller, but is made with skill and still works well enough for some reasonable Saturday evening entertainment.