Film Review - The Dead Don't Hurt (2024)

Following his 2015 directorial debut, Falling, Viggo Mortensen returns to direct with his sophomore film The Dead Don’t Hurt. Also written, produced, scored by and starring Mortensen, the film follows Holger Olsen. A Danish immigrant, Olsen now lives a very simple existence in a tiny cabin in the American west. Nearby is the town of Elk Flats which is controlled by Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston), businessman Alfred Jeffries (Garrett Dillahunt) and his spoilt son Weston (Solly McLeod). Tension is rife in the town and violence often erupts.

One day, whilst visiting San Francisco, Olsen meets French flower seller Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps). Forging an immediate connection, she returns with him with to his cabin. Initially disappointed with his barebones lifestyle, Vivienne soon decides to try and build a life with Olsen. She even takes a job in Elk Flats at a saloon where she attracts the unwanted attentions of Weston. But when she rejects him, events take a turn for the worse.

The Dead Don’t Hurt takes a non linear approach and the film actually opens on Vivienne on her deathbed before moving between the past and the present. There are also flashbacks to Vivienne’s childhood. It does take awhile to get used to the film’s structure and some audiences may be frustrated by how there seems to be little reason or rhyme to how these time switches work. On the flip side, this does allow the audience to get to know the characters on a much deeper level especially Vivienne.

Visually The Dead Don’t Hurt is shot extremely well. The sweeping vistas look very cinematic, and the film has the feel of an old school western without being too overt in any sense. The performances are arguably the film’s biggest draw here though. Mortensen’s performance is very understated. Olsen is not a garrulous man, but it is clear that there is so much brimming beneath the surface. Danny Huston is great as the quietly iniquitous Mayor Schiller and along with Garrett Dillahunt and Solly McLeod as two horribly smug and arrogant men – the three make a highly convincing trio of villains. However the standout here is probably Vicky Krieps. Vivienne embodies so many qualities. She is playful and mischievous, she is headstrong and blunt, and she has a particular weakness for the beauty of nature and Krieps plays each of these sides extremely convincingly.

Where the film is slightly weaker is probably in its pacing. The Dead Don’t Hurt takes its time to unfold and is often almost sluggish. The time jumps exacerbate this issue, slowing down the pacing and taking the audience out of moments of propulsion. This does at times feel frustrating. The Dead Don’t Hurt is also an incredibly sombre piece and even the moments of romance cannot lift the film out of its depressive nature. In this way, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a difficult watch offering very little to uplift the audience.

Overall this is an extremely accomplished piece of filmmaking from Mortensen. In spite of some pacing and structural issues, The Dead Don’t Hurt shows that Mortensen is talented as a director, and it will be really interesting to see what he turns his hand to next.