And now for something completely different: After attracting attention and appreciation with his debut feature, “Monster,” a riveting contemporary drama about a Black high school honor student charged as an accessory to a fatal shooting in his Harlem neighborhood, director Anthony Mandler continues to impress with his sophomore effort, “Surrounded,” an exceptionally well-crafted Western that spins a gripping, racially charged tale of suspicion, deception and survival in post-Civil War New Mexico. Echoes of Sergio Leone, Budd Boetticher and John Ford abound throughout the sturdy screenplay by Andrew Pagana and Justin Thomas. But the movie is less a genre pastiche than a multifaceted character study in which perfectly cast lead players Letitia Wright (“Black Panther”) and Jamie Bell (“Snowpiercer”) do most of the narrative heavy lifting.
It’s 1870, and ex-slave Mo Washington (Wright) is determined to start a new life by journeying westward. Disguised as a man for her own protection,...
It’s 1870, and ex-slave Mo Washington (Wright) is determined to start a new life by journeying westward. Disguised as a man for her own protection,...
- 6/20/2023
- by Joe Leydon
- Variety Film + TV
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