Mortensen’s second feature as writer-director offers a distinctive proposition about what a 21st-century Western could be. At best, he succeeds in tapping into the gentler, more lyrical side of the genre in the spirit of classic Hollywood directors.

In its unconventional narrative structure and its tender perspective on a brutal era, Mortensen’s film acts as a mirror of his own public persona: tightly drawn, deeply felt, refreshingly unconventional.

Mortensen’s script tussles between feminist revision and old-school male showdowns, imagining Vivienne as a Joan of Arc-inspired frontierswoman yet subject to the degradations of the era.

Kudos to Mortensen for making a film in which the ostensible male lead must ultimately adapt his life around the woman’s choices.