‘The Deid Dinnae Greet’: Glasgow Film Festival sees Viggo Mortensen’s red dead resurrection of the cowboy

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a press screening of Viggo Mortensen’s new Western The Dead Don’t Hurt (2023) at the Glasgow Film Theatre as part of the much-acclaimed Glasgow Film Festival. The event takes place this year from 28^th February – 10^th March and premieres many titles, both homegrown and international, and is well worth a visit if you’re looking for something to do in the city centre.

Personally, I’ve never particularly enjoyed the Western genre. I associate it with long, drawn-out afternoons of Sunday viewing at my grandparents’, and the infamous naps disguised as ‘only shutting my eyes for five minutes’ which only ended when the credits rolled. In fact, the only film of this variety I can remember capturing my attention was There Will Be Blood (2007) which I found refreshing in its incorporation of thriller elements rather than just plain old cowboy calamity.

However, The Dead Don’t Hurt provided all the raucous energy of the Western, as seen in its opening shootout and epic title card, while adding emotional depth via the relationship between Vivienne (Vicky Krieps) and Olsen (Viggo Mortensen). This forces the audience to connect with and understand their actions: both are spurred by grief. They feel like fully realised people; their character is revealed through experience, memory, and subsequent reactions which fit their histories. Mortensen does not write characters that exist merely to move the plot along, but instead manages to write a story which moves and informs the existence of his characters in a way that brings tangible stakes, feeling, and life to the screen.

Vicky Krieps as Vivienne is captivating, the film is shot beautifully, and the use of multiple languages to convey a rich cultural landscape and depict connection rooted in language is very effective. The Dead Don’t Hurt has emerged as one of my favourite films of the year so far. I would recommend it even if you’re not a fan of Westerns. Consider me a convert – yeehaw and all that!

[Mairead Connolly (she/her)]