Having made his debut as writer/director with the intimate family drama
Falling, Viggo Mortensen now takes on the western genre with
The Dead Don't Hurt. Along with writing, directing, producing and composing the score,
Mortensen takes the role of Holger Olsen, a Danish immigrant to 1860s America who falls for a French
Canadian woman, Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps). When Holger leaves to fight in
the civil war, Vivienne is left to fend for herself against the predatory
men who control their small town.
The film also stars Danny Huston, Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Colin Morgan, Ray McKinnon, Luke
Reilly
and Atlas Green.
The Dead Don't Hurt is in US cinemas from May 31st. A
UK/ROI release has yet to be announced.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
The official synopsis reads:
The Dead Don’t Hurt is a story of star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s. Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps) is a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel with him to his home near the quiet town of Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life together. The outbreak of the civil war separates them when Olsen makes a fateful decision to fight for the Union. This leaves Vivienne to fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (Danny Huston) and his unscrupulous business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries (Garrett Dillahunt). Alfred’s violent, wayward son Weston (Solly McLeod) aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances. When Olsen returns from the war, he and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become. Both a tragic love story and a nuanced depiction of the conflict between revenge and forgiveness, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men.
