Old Henry

"You can't bury the past."

2021 1h 39m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 797

WesternDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A widowed farmer and his son warily take in a mysterious, injured man with a satchel of cash. When a posse of men claiming to be the law come for the money, the farmer must decide who to trust. Defending a siege of his homestead, the farmer reveals a talent for gun-slinging that surprises everyone calling his true identity into question.

“You can't bury the past.”

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Cast

Tim Blake Nelson
Henry
Scott Haze
Curry
Gavin Lewis
Wyatt
Stephen Dorff
Ketchum
Trace Adkins
Al
Richard Speight Jr.
Dugan
Max Arciniega
Stilwell
Brad Carter
Branigan

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Potsy Ponciroli
Writers: Potsy Ponciroli
Languages: English, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 5% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 5 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Potsy Ponciroli, shot by John Matysiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Jordan Lehning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jamie Kirkpatrick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tim Blake Nelson and Scott Haze and Gavin Lewis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Potsy Ponciroli directs. John Matysiak behind the camera. Jordan Lehning scores. Jamie Kirkpatrick cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 5% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 5 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Spanish.
5Directed by Potsy Ponciroli, shot by John Matysiak. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Jordan Lehning. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jamie Kirkpatrick shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Tim Blake Nelson and Scott Haze and Gavin Lewis carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "You can't bury the past.".
10IMDB entry: tt12731980 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: John Matysiak
Original score: Jordan Lehning
Editing: Jamie Kirkpatrick
Production design: Max Biscoe
Costume design: Brianna Quick
Makeup / hair: Stacy Lockhart
VFX supervisor: Matthew Gardocki
Sound: Casey Barker
Stunt coordinator: Rocky Abou-Sakher
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,500,000
Box office: $77,463
Return: 5% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Old Henry (2021)

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Potsy Ponciroli

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Peter McGinn2021-11-16
★ 10/10
Really good westerns are really thin on the ground these days. This has become an instant favorite of mine, both for the intelligent (though admittedly fanciful) plot, as well as for the gritty acting by the ensemble cast. This is a slow burner, building up to its explosive ending. I can’t help but wonder if the scriptwriting was influenced by Clint Eastward’s Unforgiven. A widower trying to raise a family scratching out a living on a meager farm. A man with a past that is gradually revealed. And despite it being a slow burner, it retained my interest the way that Unforgiven did. Granted, the gunfight sequences seem excessive, but that is almost a hallmark of modern westerns. There are plot twists at the end, one that is imaginative and almost breathtaking as it is revealed, and the other reminiscent of Cold War espionage films, where the heroes ultimately don’t know who to trust. To avoid spoilers, I will say no more. So I will definitely watch this movie again. It is similar to Unforgiven in that respect also.
Wuchak2024-03-13
★ 8/10
How can you find sanctuary when violence shows up on your doorstep? A father and son on a remote homestead in the eastern Oklahoma Territory in 1906 take in a wounded man, which attracts three men claiming to be law officers. Havoc ensues. Tim Blake Nelson plays the withered farmer while Stephen Dorff is on hand as the leader of the trio. "Old Henry" (2021) includes Trace Adkins in a small role, which wasn’t a good sign since a couple of his recent Westerns weren’t up to par. I’m talking about “Stagecoach: The Texas Jack Story” and “The Virginian” (“Traded” and “Hickok” were much better, but nothing exceptional). Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised by “Old Henry.” Like those other modern Westerns, it was made on a shoestring budget but quality writing and acting win the day. Mix the basic setting of “Echoes of War” with the Eastern locations of “The Long Riders” and the lonely brooding of “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” along with the production tone of a couple of those low-budget Trace Adkins’ Westerns and you’d have a good idea of this one. I don’t want to say more because there are quality surprises in store. The movie runs 1 hour, 38 minutes, and was shot in Watertown, Tennessee, which is about 45 miles east of Nashville. GRADE: A-/B+