News of the World

A rough-and-tumble Texas road-trip movie finds the right balance of character insight and bare-knuckled action.

It's a sentimental tale, but the quiet simplicity of Greengrass' images helps whenever things threaten to get goopy.

Helena Zengel is a marvel. She can be wild in one scene, defiant later, curious the next and emotionally shut down in another. She speaks volumes even without dialogue.

Kidd feels like an ancestor of Saving Private Ryan's Captain Miller - a man who is adept at violence but will only use it as a last, mournful resort.

Helena Zengel has one of those faces that you can just stare at for the entire film. You can see the intelligence behind her eyes.

Gorgeously shot amid the caramel deserts and peppermint skies of New Mexico, News of the World is a worthy and intelligent footnote to the western genre.

Although occasionally bumpy, it's not my plan to discourage you from watching the film.

"There are certainly worse Westerns out there to avoid, but there are certainly better ones to visit before turning to News of the World."

I admire Paul Greengrass ... for maintaining his faith in the power of the pen to shape the world in a more pleasing way. I'm not sure I share it any longer.

News of the World is 2020's second-best American Western, and a heartening reminder of why we still long for the Western expanse we see in movies.