The Dead Don't Hurt

Set in the 1860s, The Dead Don't Hurt follows Vivienne Le Coudy, a fiercely independent French-Canadian woman who meets Holger Olsen, a Danish immigrant, in San Francisco and agrees to build a life with him near the small Nevada town of Elk Flats. When the Civil War breaks out, Holger volunteers to fight for the Union, leaving Vivienne on her own in a place dominated by a corrupt mayor and a powerful rancher whose violent son takes a dangerous interest in her. By the time Holger returns from the war, both have changed, and they must find a way to know each other again.

The film is written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, his second feature behind the camera after Falling (2020). Vicky Krieps plays Vivienne, with Mortensen himself as Holger Olsen. The supporting cast includes Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Danny Huston and W. Earl Brown. Mortensen also produced alongside Jeremy Thomas and Regina Solórzano, and the production spanned the United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The film fared modestly at the box office, taking in around 2 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a 6.4 rating from roughly 10,000 votes, and on TMDB a 6.5 from about 221 votes. A critics' rating of 7.2 from 121 reviews places it noticeably above the audience scores, suggesting reviewers responded to it more warmly than general viewers did.