Hostiles
Movie, 2017, The 2010s, Set in New Mexico to Montana, 1892
Hostiles is #32 of 34 in release order and #29 of 34 in chronological order in the Westerns.
The story
A legendary Native American-hating Army captain nearing retirement in 1892 is given one last assignment: to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory back to his Montana reservation.
Hostiles recap
Hostiles (2017) follows a U.S. Army captain ordered in 1892 to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief, his old enemy, home to Montana. Scott Cooper writes and directs. In New Mexico Territory, Comanche raiders kill the husband and three children of the settler Rosalee Quaid (Rosamund Pike). At Fort Berringer, Captain Joseph Blocker (Christian Bale), near retirement, is told on presidential orders to take Chief Yellow Hawk (Wes Studi) and his family north, and accepts only under threat of court-martial. With him ride his friend First Sergeant Thomas Metz (Rory Cochrane), Corporal Woodson (Jonathan Majors), the young Lieutenant Kidder (Jesse Plemons) and a private. They find Rosalee among her dead and take her along. Comanche attacks, fur traders who abduct the women, and a prisoner, Sergeant Philip Wills (Ben Foster), ordered to hang for murdering a Native family, test the party. Blocker unshackles Yellow Hawk, and the two men slowly make peace. The film stands alone.
Hostiles ending explained
Hostiles ends with Blocker boarding the Chicago train at the last moment with Rosalee and Yellow Hawk's orphaned grandson. Yellow Hawk dies as they reach Montana, and a rancher claiming the land orders them off; in the shootout the chief's son, daughter and daughter-in-law are killed. Earlier Metz killed the escaped Wills and then himself. Rosalee decides to raise the boy, Little Bear, and Blocker steps onto the departing train.
Post-credits scenes
No. There is no post-credits scene.
Where to watch Hostiles
Hostiles is streaming on Philo and Starz in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.2/10, Rotten Tomatoes 71%
Where it fits
- Release order: after The Hateful Eight, before The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
- Chronological order: after The Hateful Eight, before The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Cast
- Christian Bale as Captain Joseph J. Blocker
- Rosamund Pike as Rosalee Quaid
- Wes Studi as Chief Yellow Hawk
- Jesse Plemons as Lieutenant Rudy Kidder
- Adam Beach as Black Hawk
- Rory Cochrane as Master Sergeant Thomas Metz
- Peter Mullan as Lieutenant Colonel Ross McCowan
- Scott Wilson as Cyrus Lounde
- Paul Anderson as Corporal Tommy Thomas
- Timothée Chalamet as Private Philippe DeJardin
- Ben Foster as Philip Wills
- Jonathan Majors as Corporal Henry Woodson
Directed by Scott Cooper.