Set in the 1870s, Gabe Polsky’s adaptation of John Williams’ literary western stars Nicolas Cage as a buffalo hunter who lures a naïve young man into an ambitious expedition in the Colorado Rockies.

On the red carpet at tiff 2022 and at the premiere of the film Butcher’s Crossing, I caught-up with actors Nicolas Cage, Rachel Keller, and the rest of the cast, followed by the film’s Q & A to discuss the Cage’s decision to star in and strong themes in this movie. Best known for Moonstruck and his wild turns as cinema’s most volatile man, Cage continues to prove he is also capable of great depth and nuance on screen, playing opposite Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) in a beautiful adaptation of John Williams’ literary western.

This frontier epic tells the story of an Ivy League drop-out as he travels to the Colorado wilderness, where he joins a team of buffalo hunters on a journey that puts his life and sanity at risk.

From Will’s innocence to insight, as the adventure unfolds, Director Gabe Polsky (TIFF ’14’s Red Army) frames deep subject matter: greed, wrong & right, betrayal, destruction, distinction, and total carnage. Will and his ostensible mentor Miller fall into a spiral reminiscent of Willard and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now — something Cage nods to in the shades of Brando he brings to his performance.

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