This western made its debut at the Toronto Film Festival in 2022 and has since stunned fans with Nicholas Cage’s “terrific” performance.
Set in the 1870s old west, Butcher’s Crossing is adapted from the 1960 novel by John Edward Williams. The film tells a fictional story of a historical time in American history, when the West was shaped by pioneers, cowboys, and outlaws.
Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage, best known for his roles in the National Treasure film series, City of Angels and Kick-Ass, takes on a new challenge as he plays a stoic buffalo hunter in the Wild West. We’re first introduced to a barely recognisable Cage when a young and naive pastor’s son, Will Andrews, decides to embark on a dangerous journey.
“This movie provides viewers with an excellent portrayal of a bloody, cruel, and often overlooked part of American history,” one Rotten Tomatoes review reads. “ I’ve read about this period, but to see it embodied in a film is much more powerful and appropriate.
“Gives a visceral rendition of the history of the butchering of the buffalo and has historical photos as well as facts laced in. A great use of the film medium. I do not ever watch Westerns or tend to enjoy them. This one is in a category unto itself.”
Will, played by Fred Hechinger, drops out of Harvard University and sets out to travel to a remote town in Kansas, built on the buffalo trade. It’s here that, after realising it may not be quite what he imagines, Will meets Miller, an intense yet highly skilled hunter, played by Cage.
Calm and cunning, the hunter tricks the young traveller into making an investment, telling him that a Colorado pass has one of the last huge herds of buffalo left. The gullible college dropout bids farewell to all of his fortune when he chose to fund their treacherous expedition to the herd.
Another impressed viewer wrote: “Really nice, beautifully shot film with some terrific performances, especially by Nicolas Cage and his young protégé… Not everything has to be overpowering and aimed for the fences; this is a nice film for a rainy afternoon.”
Shortly after his leading role in the western, Cage starred in the nail-biting horror movie Longlegs in 2024. As a producer on the film, Cage played a satanic serial killer that viewers called “delightfully sinister”.
The horror was widely well-received and grossed a total of $126 million worldwide, despite its ‘small’ budget of less than $10 million. This made it the highest-grossing independent film of the year and director Osgood Perkins’s highest-grossing film he’s ever made.
However, fans of Cage continue to write raving reviews about his role in Butcher’s Crossing, with one claiming it’s a “successful cautionary tale” about “greed”. They commented: “Nicholas Cage delivered, of course. Wilderness and wildlife cinematography was incredible.
“Some parts of the movie were uneven and felt unfocused, but it never stayed boring for long. Altogether it was a satisfying watch, one that seems underrated and underappreciated by audiences.”
The Western film starring Nicolas Cage is now available to watch on Amazon Prime.