User reviews

This is a Western with an element of horror.

You can feel the fear of the main character in his dealings with the trio of villains. Many of the scenes happen after dark and the ground is always muddy. Several times we see the people who were killed by the trio having their bodies washed by the undertaker and lowered into a grave.

Not a bad western, a bit different than most. Worth a watch.

If your looking for a good quick western this is good. Kids characters i think weren't written for the day but that's it. I dont know why this is rated by viewers so low. Currently at 5.8, not a must see but not a 5.8 either.

I guarantee you've seen this story before - a good man who either abhors or has renounced violence forced to take up arms so as to protect the innocent from a villain. You can find it deployed in westerns such as The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) and Firecreek (1968), and in genre films as varied as Collateral (2004), Death Sentence (2007), and Rambo (2008). Filmed in Connemara (standing in for Oregon), this third feature from writer/director Ivan Kavanagh is the latest to roll out that narrative template. And really, there are next to no surprises in Never Grow Old - chances are everything you think is going to happen does happen. However, this isn't really a criticism. The film wears its predictability like a badge of honour, and Kavanagh is obviously a huge fan of violent revisionist westerns such as The Wild Bunch (1969) and Bone Tomahawk (2015). The script isn't going to be winning any awards for originality, but the film has been put together with undeniable craft. It's bleak, gritty, and despairing, and whilst it won't change your life, it is rather enjoyable.

Oregon, 1849; the town of Garlow is the last stop on the California Trail prior to reaching the Rocky Mountains. Although Sheriff Parker (Tim Ahern) is nominally in charge, Garlow is really governed by the local Methodist preacher, Pike (Danny Webb), who has forbidden alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. The town's mild-mannered undertaker, Irish immigrant Patrick Tate (Emile Hirsch with an Irish accent that wavers mid-sentence), isn't especially interested in Pike's hellfire sermons, but he converted from Catholicism because it was important to his wife, French immigrant Audrey (Déborah François). Living on the edge of town with their two children, they plan to leave Garlow at some point but are in no major rush to do so. That plan becomes complicated when three men - Christopher 'Dutch' Albert (John Cusack, having an absolute blast), Dumb Dumb (Sam Louwyck), who carries his severed tongue with him, and Sicily (Camille Pistone), an Italian immigrant who doesn't speak English - roll into town looking for Bill Crabtree (Paul Ronan), who left Garlow several months prior, although his wife (Anne Coesens) and daughter Emily (Manon Capelle) are still there. Stating that Crabtree stole from him and must be killed, Dutch browbeats Tate into bringing the trio to his home and having Audrey cook for them. Seeing Pike's decrees as an opportunity, Dutch procures a group of prostitutes and reopens the town's saloon, killing anyone who crosses him. With his undertaker business thriving because of the spike in violence, Tate stays out of the situation as best he can, although Audrey is disgusted that he's prospering because of Dutch's actions. Soon, however, Tate's family will come under threat and he'll be forced to decide what he must do.

Thematically, the idea of paradise awaiting us in the next life, specifically the notion that the afterlife will be a lot better than our earthly existence, is alluded to throughout the film, mainly by Pike, but also by Audrey, and even Tate and Dutch on occasion (although Dutch references it ironically). And it's really not too hard to imagine a better life than the one Kavanagh presents in Garlow, which is literally a one-road town. However, this isn't the parched, dusty environment of beige, yellow, and light browns that we're all used to seeing in westerns. Rather, it's bleak and forlorn; the buildings are dark brown, almost black, the clouds hardly ever part, it rains a lot, and the road itself is nothing but mud, with Aza Hand's sound design emphasising the squelching of the characters' steps. To compound this sense of squalor, most of the film takes place at night, with cinematographer Piers McGrail occasionally using only one practical light to illuminate an entire scene. This necessitates that characters drift in and out of the shadows, which adds an extra element of danger to Dutch and his men. The life of a European in the Americas of the 19th century wasn't easy, and one of the film's most successful elements is in showing us some of why that was.

Never Grow Old has the structure of a morality tale or a Mystery play, looking at issues such as religious hypocrisy and self-righteousness and the harsh life of European colonisers in the Americas. It even takes time to briefly address the genocide of Native American people, with Pike sermonising about how the colonists saved the land from "savages". The most obvious theme, however, is greed. Tate, for example, is complicit with Dutch's violence insofar as he accepts and ignores it, even profiting indirectly because of it. Audrey is utterly disgusted with this, and she regards their newfound financial prosperity as nothing short of evil. Several of the town's more religious folk think the same thing, and there are multiple references to Tate getting his "30 pieces of silver". Indeed, a recurring motif in the film is to cut from Dutch killing someone to Tate cleaning the body to placing two coins on their eyes to closing the coffin to burying the coffin, and finally, to hiding his payment away in a tin buried in the house. When we first see the tin, there's little in it, but as the film goes on, it becomes fuller and fuller.

Indeed, the film has several visual moments like this which convey thematic points sans dialogue. The opening shot, for example, shows a tattered American flag hanging on a burnt building, immediately introducing the theme of violence and how life in the Americas was very different from that which was sold to so many before they arrived. In another early shot, we see Pike preaching to a packed church. Later, however, after Dutch has reopened the saloon, we again see Pike preaching, but this time to an almost empty church, which, of course, makes reference to the dwindling church attendance that we're seeing playing out today. Another nice visual touch, this time in John Leslie's production design is that the saloon is directly across the road from the church, symbolising the battle between these two forces (hedonism and piety) that continues to this day.

In terms of problems, the script isn't exactly original, with every character an archetype we've seen in many other films. Additionally, the slow-burn pace will put some people off. As mentioned, Emile Hirsch joins a venerable list of actors who have completely butchered the Irish accent; everyone from Tom Cruise to Tommy Lee Jones to Val Kilmer to Brad Pitt. Hirsch isn't as bad as any of these, but his tendency to drop in and out of the inflections on a word-by-word basis is distracting. Another slight issue is that towards the end of the film, Dutch starts reading from the Bible, quoting Revelation 19:17. It's more than a little on the nose, and really, a villain quoting Revelations is itself a cliché.

Overall, however, I enjoyed Never Grow Old far more than I expected. It's bleak and gritty, rough-edged and nihilistic, but it's very well made, with some nicely conceived visual shorthand. An uncompromising look at the harshness of frontier life in the 19th century, the film suggests that stoic individualism is no substitute for a vibrant community, and is as thematically dark as it is practically dark. A morality tale in all but name, there's nothing here you haven't seen before, but Kavanagh handles the genre elements well and has made a rather enjoyable film.

In a tiny town on the road to California, the villagers live peacefully under the reverend's influence: « no alcohol, no gambling, no wh*re », as god wants us to be, theoretically speaking. The main inhabitants are this narrow-minded preacher (Danny Webb), a disillusioned sheriff (Tim Ahern) and an Irish undertaker (Emile Hirsch) married to a French woman (Déborah François). This village painfully survives until the arrival of Dutch Albert (John Cusack), a sinister man who deliberately seeks to bring chaos in this fragile universe. Why? Well, because he can and this chaos seems also to bring him some indescribable satisfaction. This fellow will even brashly open a decadent establishment with an irreverent signboard « whiskey, billiards, cards & fine ladies » right in front of the reverend's house. Needless to say, this reverend will be quickly overwhelmed by the imminent events.

Ivan Kavanagh managed to recreate a realistic and deeply dark atmosphere thanks to an excellent stage setting and an out-of-the-ordinary sense of detail: the sets, the costumes, a depressing almost-permanent mud, a very neat photography, picturesque landscapes, smoke screens, a discrete but ominous musical environment, ... Moreover, Emile Hirsch, John Cusack and Danny Webb are awesome.

August the 8th, this movie is rated 5,8 of 10. Quite clearly underrated! 7/8 of 10 in my humble opinion.

This is a grim portrayal of the Old West. The life is hard; so, temptations for spending money and wild times take over the innocents. Abuse and death runs high. There is no comedy here. Enjoy.

An Irish man who want to make profit with money. Then outlaw takes place under and threatened local people for reform church. Local preacher's want always peace and later death toll rises continuous. Now dutch gang continue murder opposition. Irish undertaker name Patrick decide whether he goes with bloody money or to save family from threatning.

Well, i just witnessed one of the best & an underrated western thriller of 2019. Cold blooded Murdering act,Greedy selfish act,all was perfectly executed by both Emile & John. Great BGM, Cinematography & Good Direction.

This is just a good movie. Never Grow Old is not a Hollywood western, it's gritty, dark, bloody and just dirty the way you'd think the old west would actually be like.

I love almost everything about this western. The acting is absolutely top notch. The writing is decent, but suits the tone, story, and characters. The attention to detail of the time period is flawless. The film carries a strong momentum, with some misses along the way, but manages to fully immerse the viewer regardless. The last act, and especially the last few minutes, seemed out of place. Like the ending was being rushed and they couldn't quite figure out what they should do.

I found myself confused at times. I don't understand what led to a certain character being hanged, given the circumstances, and honestly feel that time would been better spent maintaining the momentum and giving more time to the ending.

I'm equally confused as to why it took so long for our main character to realize what was happening and do something about it, other than building tension, particularly when every other character seemed painfully aware.

I definitely recommend this western regardless.

Cusack looks ridiculous in this role. He in no way is believable as a tough guy character. He looks more like a slug in a trenchcoat and hat. And what's going on with that black mascara under his tired eyes? Sorry Mr. Director but dressing up a fat sloth in black western clothes doesn't make him a scary villain any more than glitter makeup and high heels make a fat black chick look sexy. Emile Hirsch saved this movie from the junk heap.

This was a bleak movie, yes. Emile Hirsch also had a terrible Irish accent. But despite some of the more obvious gripes about the movie, this one is well worth the watch.

Sure, the whole undertaker thing might be a little on the nose, but I love the lessons in supply and demand: Cusack kills, Hirsch buries, and suddenly the Californian gold rush comes to a nowhere town.

Another interesting dynamic was the shifting power dynamics between the sheriff, the priest, and the outlaw.

In my opinion this film is thoughtful, entertaining, somewhat well-acted, and well worth the invested time.

Liked the portrayal of a brutal way the U.S. and its West was won. So often it's glossed over that early and later settlers were generally religious dissenters, political malcontent and criminal transportation. Not forgetting ordinary dreamers, as all above had their own dream scenario, not all of it for the good. Then it follows the path of our hero is Irish Catholic, forced to convert to Anglican or Puritan faith to be accepted. Is it just Irish Catholic idea of what's in a church or a total faux pas. The crucifix in Anglican or Puritan churches of that time would amount to the sin of idolatry.Then there's the constant taunt, " Irish you can't do it, all I see is fear in your eyes". That's very strange to say the least, but overall it''s worth a watch.

This is a slightly different Western as the main characters are stationary, and they aren't trigger happy. It is engrossing up see the changes in the residents in the town. It is a gripping tale of a town where no one grows old.

Emile Hirsch does a nice job here portraying the role of a unhappy gravedigger looking for more but not sure how to get his hands on it.

Cussack also returns to some form as he swaggers in to town to make it his own.

There are other characters in the movie, the never happy wife, the fire-breathing pastor and others but they really have little impact on the story. Its pretty much a film between Hirsch and Cussack.

It was an enjoyable film to watch and nice to see a western for a change :)

1849, in the town of Garlow , California route, Patrick (Emile Hirsch) , a loving and peaceful family man from the Wild West tries to survive a failing business , being married to the French Audrey Tate (Déborah François) and having two children . An once-peaceful frontier town becomes a den of vice after vicious bandit Dutch Albert (John Cusack) and his gang arrive and begin gunning down their opposition . Undertaker Patrick Tate must now choose between the blood money he makes burying the murderers' victims and the threats he and his family face as the death toll continues to rise. Emile Hirsch and John Cusack star in this dark and sinister Western about the arrival of an outlaw and his henchmen in a Christian town on the American frontier.

Well crafted Western with interesting screenplay by director himself , Ivan Kavanagh . Ivan is a multi-award winning Writer and Director best known for Son (2021) and The Canal (2014) . In 2019, Ivan's western Never Grow Old produced by Ripple World Pictures, starring John Cusack and Emile Hirsch, was released in cinemas worldwide, also to critical acclaim. Although atmospheric , it's also downbeat and sometimes just downright nasty . The story is almost terrific as a bounty killer drifter comes to strange frontier town just in time to reckoning villagers and and seize the town . This stirring picture contains a powerful examination of morality and hypocrisy on people of a little town. The film is made in somewhat similar style to ¨High plains drifter (1973)¨ and ¨Pale rider (1985)¨ , only this time a drifter appears to have been sent from hell rather than heaven to execute a string of chaos , detruction and slaughter . Set in a swampy and lugrubious landscape, this story about human decay, injustice and guilt is written and directed by Ivan who became known around the world with the terrifying film Canal . Revolving around some engaging themes , when unknown and cruel bounty hunters settle in the quiet town of Garlow, Patrick begins to prosper, causing him a serious moral dilemma : continue with the profits or protect his family. Cast in pretty good , giving decent interpretation . Emile Hirsch is nice as an Irish undertaker profits when outlaws take over a peaceful American frontier town, but his family comes under threat as the death toll rises , while Deborah Francois is his beautiful wife, John Cusack as an extremely villain man who stubbornly seeks to bring chaos as well as death and Danny Webb as the fanatic , stiff-upper-lip preacher Pike.

The motion picture was well directed by Ivan Kavanagh , though shot in slow-moving and deliberately made . Ivan is a good craftsman who was born in Dublin, Ireland. Other work includes Tin Can Man (2007) and The Fading Light (2010) which picked up 'Best Irish Film' and 'Best Actor' for Patrick O'Donnell at the Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards during the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2010, and screened in the World Cinema section of the Pusan International Film Festival 2010, Korea. Ivan's critically acclaimed psychological horror, The Canal (2014) produced by Park Films and financed by the Irish Film Board and Film Agency Wales, had its world premiere at the Tribeca International Film Festival 2014 in New York, and was subsequently released in cinemas worldwide to critical acclaim. 2021 saw the release of Ivan's latest critically acclaimed film Son (Park Films), which he wrote and directed, a psychological horror film, Emile Hirsch would work together again two years later . And Emile Hirsch won the Silver Raven Award at the 39th Brussels International Festival of Fantasy. Ivan is the creator, writer and executive producer of a six part TV crime series The Vanishing Triangle (Park Films, 2023) and has a number of feature film projects in the works. Rating : 6/10 . Acceptable and passable Western.

I thoroughly enjoyed this Western.Performances were good and definitely the best performance by Cusack for a long time.A lot of the Cinematography seems to have been done in natural light.To me it added to the atmosphere. Yes it's a slow burn,but it added to the film.Would recommend.Another great effort from Kavanaugh.

Never Grow Old is about a town that becomes a den of vice after vicious outlaw Dutch Albert and his gang arrive and begin gunning down their opposition. Undertaker Patrick Tate must now choose between the blood money he makes burying the murderers' victims and the threats he and his family face as the death toll continues to rise.

I love westerns . Behind gangster movies it is probably my favourite genre but sadly this one probably won't stay in the memory for too long .

It has all the hallmarks you would hope for . John Cusack plays the bad guy who's ruined the once religious town ( some would argue improves it ) and he does a pretty good job . The biggest problem is that our so called hero of the story is so dull. I'm not sure if it's Emile Hirsch's fault or script but I wasn't too bothered about what happens to him and especially his nagging wife .

It's not all bad though . This looks great , despite the sun never being out , and it never drags on the way to it's inevitable conclusion but it's one of those films that won't take long to be confined to metaphorical bargain bin with all the other average B movies .

Please change the genre titles on this movie. The movie is not even close to being an action movie. This is a drama/western that could maybe and I mean MAYBE considered to ever so slightly be considered a thriller. The movie is well shot and acted in my opinion. The story has been done a million times before though and with a movie like this you'd expect some solid action/thrills to bring some excitement to a script we've all seen executed better in previous movies. The 2 main actors were solid but this movie is boring.

A very dark but entertaining movie. John Cusack and Emile Hirsch played the parts very well. I enjoyed watching. It seems like there should have been more daylight shots. Most it seems was filmed at night, which made it dark.

Firstly let me say this is not a true review having given up after 40 minutes due to the fact this is filmed in near total darkness.Why is this the case with so many recent movies?It drives me mad. Shame because from what little i saw it had promise

This movie is fairly entertaining, it could have used a bit of editing but I really liked the plot and characters. I think that the biggest problem is that the cinematography. It's just bad. The movie picture is very dark toned. This is supposed to be the American West? How about showing some stunning landscapes? Just watch Pale Rider to see what cinematography should look like.