Those Who Wish Me Dead feels like a throwback to 90’s films centered around natural disasters. Directed by Taylor Sheridan (who wrote Sicario, directed Hell or High Water and wrote and directed Wind River), it’s an entertaining thriller film that is brought down a little by its leap of logic. Adapted from a novel of the same name written by Michael Koryta, the story has changed significantly during its transition to the big screen.
Hannah Faber (Angelina Jolie) is a daredevil smoke jumper who’s dealing with PTSD from failing to save a family during a forest fire. She has been “demoted” and assigned to a firetower, where she monitors any signs of a new forest fire. Things take a turn when she finds a distraught boy named Connor (Finn Little) who has just escaped from a car wreck. His father Owen (Jake Weber) was driving with him to his aunt’s place, trying to escape assassins who were after him because he uncovered shady dealings while working for the district attorney. The two assassins (Aidan Gillen and Nicolas Hoult) hunt Connor down, correctly guessing that his father had entrusted important evidence to him before dying.
Angelina Jolie is in her element, portraying a tough as nails character who is also vulnerable from her lingering trauma. The film does try a little too hard to make it clear that Hannah is haunted by the death of the family, but thankfully Jolie carries it through her performance. In fact, this is a film with a very robust cast, including Jon Bernthal, who plays the sheriff brother-in-law Ethan who gets in the assassins’ crosshairs. Aidan Gillen and Nicolas Hoult are competent, and at times, menacing as the killers. In fact, Gillen’s character has a soft spot for Ethan’s pregnant wife, Allison (Medina Senghore). That ends up biting him in the rear end, unfortunately.
All of these characters are interesting- in fact, in the case of Ethan and Allison, they are sometimes more interesting than Hannah. The two of them run a survival school together, and Allison in particular finds her skills tested by the situation.
As tautly directed as the film is, Taylor Sheridan doesn’t quite manage to elevate it to the same heights of his previous works.
It does bear his signature touch, but there are some ridiculous scenes, such as when Hannah and Connor have to outrun lightning in an open clearing. As mentioned earlier, the story was changed significantly for the film, and we have a more traditional duel between Hannah and Hoult’s assassin that is resolved in predictable fashion. Hannah and Connor are aided by Hollywood luck as they escape a rapidly approaching forest fire.
Despite its flaws, Those Who Wish Me Dead continues HBO Max’s trend of releasing above average films (if you discount the disappointing Tom and Jerry). It’s engaging throughout its runtime, and although the conventional Hollywood ending might leave you slightly disappointed, you won’t regret watching it. The film could have definitely benefited from another 20 minutes or so of character development, but maybe the lean narrative is a better direction.