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News of the World
2020 118 min United States of America PG-13 12+
★7.4
Drama, Western, Adventure
Director: Paul Greengrass
📖 Based on the novel
«News of the World»
byPaulette Jiles
Trailers
EN
Teaser
EN
Description
A Texan traveling across the wild West bringing the news of the world to local townspeople, agrees to help rescue a young girl who was kidnapped.
Budget:
$38M
US Gross:
$12.67M
Worldwide:
$12.7M
Starring
Tom Hanks
Actor
Helena Zengel
Actor
Tom Astor
Actor
Awards
BAFTA 2021
— Best Production Design
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2021
— Best Supporting Actress
Academy Awards 2021
— Best Sound
BAFTA 2021
— Best Sound
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2021
— Best Stunt Ensemble
Golden Globe 2021
— Best Original Score
Academy Awards 2021
— Best Original Score
BAFTA 2021
— Best Cinematography
BAFTA 2021
— Best Original Score
Academy Awards 2021
— Best Cinematography
Academy Awards 2021
— Best Production Design
Golden Globe 2021
— Best Supporting Actress
Key opinion
News of the World is a contemplative Western that emphasizes character-driven storytelling over traditional genre spectacle. While critics and audiences largely praise the lead performances and atmospheric cinematography, the film remains divisive regarding its slow-burn pacing and the originality of its narrative structure.
| Acting | Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel anchor the film with powerful, nuanced performances that effectively convey the evolving father-daughter bond. | |
| Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography masterfully captures the vast, harsh, and authentic beauty of the post-Civil War Texas landscape. | |
| Production | James Newton Howard’s score and the film's production design create a deeply immersive and atmospheric sense of time and place. | |
| Originality | The narrative's reliance on the familiar 'hardened protector and lost child' archetype leaves some viewers feeling the story lacks sufficient originality. | |
| Pacing | The film’s deliberate, slow-paced approach to storytelling rewards viewers seeking a character study, but others find the narrative to be monotonous and lacking in sustained tension. | |
| Screenplay | Critics are divided on the screenplay, with some praising its thematic focus on grief and redemption, while others criticize it as underdeveloped and predictable. |