Rating of
2.5/4
They arrive in the last 20 seconds
Indyfreak - wrote on 11/08/20
Mark Rylance and Johnny Depp enter a battle of wills in this period drama set in an unspecified colonial past. The setting is deliberately vague so that characters are identified as either civilized members of the unnamed Empire or indigenous nomads referred to as barbarians.
Rylance plays the rational magistrate for a military outpost whilst Depp is the vicious intelligence officer trying to root out a potential rebellion amongst the native population.
The performances are pretty good. Rylance is solid as a moral person pressured by ruthless superiors into a bleak situation. Depp is excellent as the wicked interrogator.
It’s very intense and uncomfortable at times during the torture scenes. Its stripped down narrative, vague details, and grim tone will likely be a turnoff for most viewers. Plus there honestly is no real action in the plot although the desert scenery is stunning. But the thematic content was sometimes interesting.
