Raw but rewarding

When a film echoes experiences of the viewer it can dredge up memories that are painful in the extreme without any promise of a new perspective. I found the film tough going because of that.

Yet the character of Matt King (George Clooney) was so well drawn and accessible that his handling of extremely taxing events that smaller, pettier, weaker men could have spun to feel the satisfaction of revenge but to the detriment of so many others around them, were an inspiration. With so much pain around, why multiply it out? Why thrust in a knife of righteous anger at betrayal and self-interest then give it an additional twist?

There is so much to this film that it takes time to absorb the implications. Even though the plot has few surprises, the characters though initially stereotypical eventually take the nobler path, the one less travelled and by the end they have all grown in stature. Their problems were manifold and each had a different way of working around/through them. There's no right or wrong here, just a group of paths through the forest and the film allows us to admire the view on the way.

8/10