Rust: Decent Western Distinguished, Ironically, By Magnificent Cinematography

By Liz Braun

Rating: B

Rust is the movie marred by the on-set death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins.

Hutchins was shot in 2021 during filming when a prop gun proved to contain live ammunition; the writer-director Joel Souza was also injured in the accident. It was actor Alec Baldwin who fired the prop gun, so the tragedy was complicated by a celebrity feeding frenzy.

Trying to separate real events from reel in writing about Rust is almost impossible, given the film’s stunning cinematography — a constant reminder of Hutchins’ skill and her death.

And the movie is dedicated to her.

So, Rust unfolds wrapped in sweeping vistas of the old west, monumental landscapes and an endless sky; visually it is often ghostly and haunting and it’s beautiful to look at.

The story, set in 19th century Wyoming, involves men in white hats and men in black hats and the harsh laws of an untamed land. The action begins with children in peril.

Lucas (Patrick Scott McDermott) is 13 years old and has full responsibility for his younger brother Jacob (Easton Malcolm) and the family farm. Their parents are dead. After an accidental shooting — real life and reel keep colliding in this film — Lucas is sentenced to death.

His formidable aunt (Frances Fisher) visits him in prison. Next thing you know, a grandfather Lucas never knew he had turns up to bust the kid out of jail.

Grandpa is Harland Rust (Baldwin), a world-weary bad guy infamous for thieving and killing, albeit usually people who need killing. Lucas is rightly terrified of this mysterious stranger but agrees to flee with him to New Mexico territory and escape his own hanging.

As the two travel together and grow closer, Rust proves to have more good in him than bad.

In pursuit of the runaways is the sheriff Wood Helm, a man tortured by the ill health of his own child and his inability to save the boy. Josh Hopkins is understated and superb in this role.

Once a large bounty is placed on Rust and Lucas, others join the pursuit, lead among them the evil preacher Fenton Lang (Travis Fimmel). Take a handful of men with faces carved out of old pemmican, throw in some thrilling shoot-outs and terrible confrontations, add a few Indigenous characters and a pinch of local chaos and put it all on horseback: that’s Rust.

The film is long and slow, but never boring. There is, however, a sense that the various storylines are not woven together completely.

At times the story is so crowded that it’s tough to distinguish one character from another — a lot of men in big hats are chasing Lucas and Rust — but it’s overall enjoyable, if not a standout in the genre.

Whether any viewer can watch Rust without being conscious of Halyna Hutchins’ senseless and tragic death is another story.

Rust. Directed by Joel Souza, written by Joel Souza and Alec Baldwin. Starring Alec Baldwin, Josh Hopkins, Travis Fimmel, Frances Fisher, Patrick Scott McDermott. In theatres May 9.

Be sure to read our interview with Rust actors Patrick Scott McDermott and Josh Hopkins