Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021)
Forensic accountant Owen Casserly (Jake Weber) flees his home with his teenage son Connor (Finn Little) when he discovers he has been targeted by a pair of assassins (Nicholas Hoult and Aidan Gillen) who have been hired to stop him giving evidence in a major corruption case. Connor witnesses the murder of his father after their car is run off the road. Entrusted with important written evidence, he escapes into the dense forests of the Montana wilderness pursued by the killers. Seeking help he runs into smokejumper Hannah Faber (Angelina Jolie) who is stationed at a remote fire lookout tower. Hannah suffers from PTSD from a previous forest fire in which she was unable to save three young boys. Hannah attempts to lead Connor through the forest to safety. Meanwhile the assassins set fire to the forest to divert the attention of the authorities and cover their tracks.
Upon reading the plot synopsis for Those Who Wish Me Dead, I immediately thought of the 1998 action movie Firestorm starring Howie Long. However upon further consideration the similarities lie purely in the setting. Those Who Wish Me Dead aspires to be a little more than just an action vehicle although it includes many familiar tropes. Angelina Jolie treads Liam Neeson territory with her “wounded Lion” role. The central character is a “wild card” with a past who is seeking redemption. However, despite a plethora of familiar plot themes, director Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) chooses to focus on character and story. There are some solid and somewhat brutal action scenes but they are not the heart of the proceedings. The film’s pacing is somewhat languid as a consequence. The writer of the source novel, Michael Koryta, is credited as having co-written the screenplay and it may be the case that he wanted to focus more on the characters nature, rather than their deeds.
Angelina Jolie acquits herself well and is very watchable, handling the physical demands of her role well. Finn Little similarly is a plausible young teenager, suitably traumatised and yet resourceful. Teenagers are so often depicted in a tiresomely formulaic manner in these sorts of films, so it is quite refreshing to have a more palatable character. Furthermore, Those Who Wish Me Dead flips several common place genre tropes. The two assassins are in fact brothers and this gives an interesting dynamic to their interactions. They’re both clearly psychotic and simply view their work as a process, which they undertake in a very matter of fact manner. We don’t necessarily learn a lot about them but they are more than just the standard “off the peg” bad guys required in action movies And then there’s the pregnant wife of the local sheriff, Alison played by (Medina Senghore) who quickly contradicts the woman in danger trope.
Overall Those Who Wish Me Dead is a more polished and finely honed action movie than your average studio genre material. It is raised to a higher standard because of the central performances and due to the competence of the cast. The digital FX work is also very good finding the right balance between creating spectacle and not overplaying its hand. As a result the burning forest seems a genuine threat. These high production values along with a story that is prepared to fly in the face of some of the genre’s more common attributes makes Those Who Wish Me Dead better than average. The presence of Angelina Jolie may well broaden the film’s appeal beyond action fans. She has the acting chops to play a firefighter, although she still doesn’t quite look the part. And if given a choice I would recommend Those Who Wish Me Dead over Firestorm.
