It’s no big secret that in a cinematic industry seems to be caving to the pressures of the “streaming wars,” and that we will likely be facing an entirely new version of the marketplace in the wake of the writer’s strike. In a cinematic ecosystem with ballooning budgets, the cannibalization of previously established properties, the influence of a film’s performance on its distributor's streaming partner, and its potential in increasingly unpredictable award season races, studios seem to be looking for very specific genres that seem to genuinely be successful. These include comic book adaptations, low-budget horror films, animated family films, and the subgenre of “Tom Hanks dad movies.” Hanks’ name seems to still be reason enough to draw in older moviegoers to the theaters, as he tends to be making the type of old-fashioned dramas that no other star seems to be able to make. While it’s surprising that News Of The World is his first Western, leave it to Hanks to make a socially conscious, electrifying new twist on the genre that emphasizes the importance of journalistic integrity in the post-Trump era.
Hanks was one of the biggest comedy stars of the 1980s, but the next two decades saw him earning nearly every accolade that an actor seems to dream for. Between back-to-back Best Actor wins at the Academy Awards for Jonathan Demme’s Philadelphia and Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump, collaborations with nearly every major prestige filmmaker of the generation, a successful string of romantic-comedies, an impressive directorial achievement of his own with That Thing You Do, and a role in the highly profitable Toy Story franchise, Hanks seemingly has a greenlight to make anything that he wants.
Recently, that's been a lot of low-key historical biopics focused on real American heroes, with Saving Mr. Hanks, Bridge of Spies, Sully, The Post, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, and Greyhound just to name a few. These films are so consistently entertaining and feel like such outliers in an industry focused on superheroes that Hanks can be forgiven for having to take a paycheck role in a disastrous Pinocchio remake every now and then just to pay for them. News of the World is technically a Western because it is set in the post-Civil War America south, but it revitalizes the genre thanks to its focus on the real practice of American journalists that would read the “news of the world” as they traveled between towns.
Tom Hanks' Character Is an Unlikely Hero
While Hanks’ character Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd was a former Confederate soldier, he has given up on his wartime animosities and found a new role for himself in the Reconstruction era traveling between towns and reading the most important news events from across the nation. Not only was there no easy way to broadcast news events across the country, but many locals couldn't read, and the fracturing of the country had left many newspapers out of print in favor of local propaganda.
As detailed within the novel of the same name by author Paulette Jiles, News of the World shows the challenges that these early messengers faced when they discussed news events that people didn’t want to hear about. Like Hanks’ role as Ben Bradlee in Steven Spileberg’s The Post, this was a character that was clearly being spotlighted in order to draw allusions to current events. The fact that News of the World was released in the midst of the pandemic where theatergoing’s future was uncertain was almost eerily prescient.
'News of the World' Hits Many Western Hallmarks
Kidd tries to keep his relationships professional, as he knows that the nature of his profession makes it unlikely that he will ever see the majority of his audiences again. He also knows that his acknowledgment of the war’s conclusion may put him at odds with some of the local extremists that are still looking to raise arms against the Union Army. Despite his intention to stay to the strict parameters of his assignment, Kidd becomes tasked with transporting a young girl, Johanna (Helena Zengal), to safety after he discovers that the young child has not seen her family in over six years, and was effectively raised by the Kiowa.
While Johanna can only speak cryptic English, the interactions that she shares with Kidd are beautiful. Like classic Western stars such as Alan Ladd, Gary Cooper, or James Stewart, Hanks has a quietness to him that reflects his emotional state. He’s an actor that can suggest more emotion with a simple gesture than an overextended monologue, so it’s interesting to see how he begins to communicate with Johanna and realizes that they have much in common. As is revealed later on in the story, both Johanna’s Kiowa tribe and her parents were killed; she is referred to as “an orphan twice over.” This is something that draws Kidd to protect her, as a beautifully wordless scene towards the end reveals that he is mourning the death of his wife.
'News of the World's Unfortunate Release
Unfortunately, News of the World seemed to be released at the exact wrong time. Universal Pictures released it in theaters at the end of 2020, and sadly Hanks, Zengal, or director Paul Grengrass (whose 2013 film Captain Phillips is a “Hanks dad movie” classic in its own right), all seemed to be left out of the awards season. The restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the theatrical streaming market may have made it more difficult for Hanks to reach his primary audience, and it’s likely that more people saw his cameo the same year in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.
It's a shame, as News of the World served as proof that Hanks should have been making Westerns for quite some time already, and focused on an increasingly timely message of maintaining journalistic integrity when powerful forces like to share “their version” of the truth. Whether you want to learn about the practices of early American journalists in the late 19th century or simply see a cool neo-noir Western where Hanks gets into gun fights with racists, News of the World is worth a look.