News of the World (2021)
Director: Paul Greengrass
Screenwriters: Paul Greengrass, Luke Davies
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Tom Astor, Travis Johnson, Andy Kastelic, Ray McKinnon, Mare Winningham
The Western genre often leans on familiar beats: lone riders, quickdraw showdowns, and sweeping images of open plains. While those elements can be comforting and entertaining, they quickly slip into cliché when overused. News of the World, directed by Paul Greengrass and adapted from Paulette Jiles’s 2016 novel, chooses a different path. Rather than leaning on non-stop action, the film takes a measured, contemplative approach, allowing character and quiet moments to define its journey across the post–Civil War Texas frontier.
The story follows Captain Jefferson Kidd (Tom Hanks), a traveling former army officer who makes a living by reading newspapers aloud to people in towns and settlements that either cannot read or lack access to news. Kidd’s routine is interrupted when he agrees to escort a young girl named Johanna (Helena Zengel), who was taken in childhood by a Native American group and later found living without English or a home. The pair must travel roughly 400 miles through hazardous terrain to reach the only relatives Johanna still has, which sets up a road story about trust, belonging, and the slow formation of a makeshift family.
Tom Hanks brings the film’s moral center to life with his trademark steadiness and warmth, portraying Captain Kidd as a man of decency and quiet principles. Helena Zengel’s performance is the film’s emotional linchpin; she conveys Johanna’s confusion, resilience, and gradual opening to a new world largely without words. Casting a young German actress for a character with German heritage proves important to the authenticity of the role, as small German phrases surface in Johanna’s speech without sounding forced. Together, Hanks and Zengel build a fragile but believable rapport that carries both the film’s gentler exchanges and its more tense encounters.
Paul Greengrass’s direction emphasizes faces and landscapes, often lingering on reactions and wide, empty vistas. Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography captures the stark beauty of the Texan wilderness, and many of the film’s strongest moments come from the way frame and light underscore loneliness and possibility. Editor William Goldenberg shapes the film’s pacing, though at times the edit leans too heavily on reaction shots, which can overstate emotions that the actors already convey. Some sequences—particularly the film’s few shootouts—require more forceful cutting, but quieter scenes might have benefited from less editorial insistence.
Technically, News of the World is polished: the production design evokes a rugged, transitional America, the score complements the emotional tone, and the supporting cast adds texture without distracting from the central relationship. The screenplay keeps a tight focus on the evolving bond between Kidd and Johanna, allowing character development to unfold naturally rather than through contrived plot turns.
That said, the film largely plays it safe. It confidently checks the boxes of a reflective Western without pushing into truly daring territory. The narrative’s destination becomes apparent early, and the film proceeds toward it with a kind of stubborn assurance, prioritizing steady storytelling over experimentation. For viewers seeking a fresh twist on the genre, the film may feel too conventional; for those who appreciate a calm, well-crafted character study set against the open road, it offers a satisfying, occasionally tender experience.
In short, News of the World is an accomplished, restrained Western that benefits from strong performances—especially from Hanks and Zengel—atmospheric cinematography by Dariusz Wolski, and deliberate direction from Paul Greengrass. It doesn’t revolutionize the form, but it delivers a thoughtful two-hour portrait of connection and duty in a harsh, changing landscape. The film’s quiet moments are its greatest strength, even if its overall arc remains predictably steady.
16/24