Tom Hanks plays a man who tells people the news. That’s the whole premise of News of the World, and it’s enough to carry a movie on its own. Paul Greengrass directs, and he co-wrote the script with Luke Davies, adapting Paulette Jiles’ 2016 novel. The film follows Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a Civil War veteran who travels Texas reading newspapers aloud for ten cents a head. When he stumbles across a young white girl who can only speak Kiowa, he agrees to return her to her family, a journey that turns into a road picture about connection and belonging.
This is a Western, a drama, and an adventure. It moves at a steady pace, with Greengrass keeping the camera close and favoring long takes over quick cuts. The setup is simple: Kidd picks up Johanna Leonberger, a child raised by the Kiowa, and decides to take her back to Castroville, some 400 miles away. On his journey, he encounters three ex-Confederate soldiers who want to purchase her. The tension is real, and the stakes are personal, even though the film never explains why Johanna was taken or why the Kiowa killed her adoptive family.
Trailer, via Universal Pictures.
Kidd and Johanna
Hanks performs with an ease that makes his work look simple. Kidd speaks little, and Hanks portrays him as tired and cautious. He follows the news because it’s his job, but he also reads it because he wants to know what’s taking place in the world. The part suits him well, and he gives the screen a calm presence. His scenes with Johanna form the core of the picture, and he never exaggerates the fatherly impulse behind his choice to aid her.
The standout performance in this film belongs to Helena Zengel, who plays Johanna, a girl who has lived among the Kiowa for six years and does not speak English. Her work is built on small gestures and wide-eyed wonder. She hardly speaks at all, yet she communicates volumes. The film relies on her presence, and it works. Johanna is a character who could easily be reduced to a prop, but Zengel gives her a sense of self that holds the story together. Kidd’s partnership with Johanna drives the whole movie, and both actors keep that engine running.
The Journey Through Texas
Greengrass sets his film in 1870, filling the frame with the wide, empty plains of Texas. The land is flat and stretches without end, which the film uses to build a feeling of being cut off from others. Kidd and Johanna move across the country by wagon, pausing at towns along their path. Every stop brings a fresh face, a fresh tale, and a fresh danger. The pace moves slowly, and the film does not hurry from one hazard to another. Instead, it lets the road run long, giving viewers room to sit with the two travelers.
The supporting cast is thin but effective. Ray McKinnon and Mare Winningham play Simon and Doris Boudlin, a couple who take Kidd in for a night and offer to watch Johanna. They’re kind, but they’re also wary. Fred Hechinger plays John Calley, a Union Army soldier who warns Kidd about the Confederates. Bill Camp appears as Mr. Branholme, and Thomas Francis Murphy is Mr. Farley. Gabriel Ebert plays Benjamin Farley. Neil Sandilands and Winsome Brown appear as Johanna’s Uncle Wilhelm and Aunt Anna. These characters are all given a moment or two, but the film belongs to Kidd and Johanna.
The Confederates and the Climax
The three ex-Confederate soldiers are the antagonists, and the film treats them with a cold eye. They’re not cartoon villains, but they’re not sympathetic either. They want Johanna for reasons that are never fully explained, and the film leaves their motives vague. This is a deliberate choice, and it works. The film isn’t interested in giving the bad guys a backstory. It’s interested in the chase.
The climax comes when Kidd and Johanna are cornered by the soldiers. The film doesn’t show the fight in detail. Instead, it shows the aftermath, with Kidd and Johanna riding away from the scene. It’s a quiet ending, and it fits the tone of the film. The film is about survival, not spectacle. The chase is tense, but it’s not the point. The point is the bond between Kidd and Johanna, and the film keeps that bond at the center of the story.
The Technical Craft
The film is shot with a documentary style that suits Greengrass’s approach. The camera is often handheld, and the lighting is natural. The score is sparse and effective. It doesn’t overpower the dialogue, and it doesn’t try to manipulate the audience’s emotions. The sound design is also strong, with the wind and the creak of the wagon carrying weight in the mix.
The film uses long shots to establish the scale of the landscape, and close-ups to capture the performances. The color palette is muted, with dusty browns and greens. The film looks like it was shot in the 1870s, even though it wasn’t. That’s a compliment to the production design.
The Themes of Belonging
Kidd is a man who has lost his place in the world, while Johanna is a girl who has never known her own. The film’s central idea is that these two find each other because they share a need to be needed. Kidd reads the news to people who don’t have access to information, and Johanna reads Kidd as a father figure. The film doesn’t spell this out, but the film trusts its audience to see what isn’t said. The performances do the work instead.
The movie also deals with the lasting effects of the Civil War. Kidd served with the Confederate side, and the film makes no attempt to forgive him for that. Instead, it portrays him merely as someone who managed to live through the fighting and now wanders from place to place, bringing word of events to others. The Confederate pursuers chasing him were his former foes in battle, and the film refrains from glorifying their cause. They appear threatening, yet they are shown as real individuals as well. This isn’t meant to be a teaching of history, but rather a tale about the folks who actually endured it.
The Box Office Numbers
The picture earned a total of $12 million. It came out in movie theaters across the US on December 25, 2020, with its international release on Netflix following on February 10, 2021. Critical reception was favorable, with reviewers pointing to the acting work of Hanks and Zengel, along with the film’s cinematography, music, and Greengrass’s direction. At the 93rd Academy Awards, the production was shortlisted for Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Zengel also picked up nominations for Best Supporting Actress at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Key facts:
– Runtime: 118 minutes
– US theatrical release: December 25, 2020
– International release on Netflix: February 10, 2021
– Box office total: $12 million
– Nominations: Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Sound (Academy Awards); Best Supporting Actress (Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild)
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| US theatrical release | December 25, 2020 |
| International release on Netflix | February 10, 2021 |
The Final Word
News of the World is a solid, well-made film. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it doesn’t need to. It takes a simple premise and builds a story around it, with strong performances and a clear vision. The film is not perfect. Some scenes drag, and the middle section could be tighter. The film also relies on a few coincidences that strain credulity. But the film’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses.
This road picture understands what a road picture requires: a place to arrive at, someone to travel with, and a purpose for setting out. Kidd has a place to reach, and Johanna is his traveling partner. The purpose for setting out is the hope of finding a home. The film never settles the matter of whether Johanna will actually find that home. It lets the question remain open, and that is the correct choice.
The film is a reminder that a good story doesn’t need special effects or a blockbuster budget. It just needs a clear idea and people willing to commit to it. News of the World has both. It’s a film about the news of the world, and it’s a film about finding where you belong. It’s not a great film, but it’s a good one.
The film was directed by Paul Greengrass and written by Greengrass and Luke Davies. It runs for 118 minutes and had a theatrical release in the United States on December 25, 2020. Internationally, it appeared on Netflix on February 10, 2021. Its box office total reached $12 million. At the 93rd Academy Awards, the film received nominations for Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, and Best Sound. Helena Zengel earned a Best Supporting Actress nod at both the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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