Three-time Oscar nominee Viggo Mortensen will take on the creative roles of director, writer, and star in the forthcoming western love romance The Dead Don’t Hurt. Mortensen’s directorial follow-up will have him and Vicky Krieps, who played his love interest in Phantom Thread, as star-crossed lovers in 1860s America. This month in Canada is when principal photography will begin on the film. Mortensen’s character in The Dead Don’t Hurt, Holger Olsen is a Danish immigrant who meets “independent” French Canadian lady Vivienne Le County (Krieps). The 2 decide to take a trip together, and eventually make their home in a little town. However, the Civil War drives a wedge between them, and Vivienne soon finds herself surrounded by the town’s crooked and villainous males.
When Holger returns from the war, he and his wife find that they have changed in ways that none of them could have predicted. The book is called “a depiction of a passionate woman willing to stand up for herself in an unforgiving society governed by unscrupulous men” and “a sad love story and a narrative of retribution.” Mortensen’s 2020 drama Falling became his first picture as both director and writer. When it aired at festivals like Sundance and Cannes, the film received rave reviews from reviewers. Most people, however, recognise Mortensen from his portrayal as Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films. His filmography also included parts of Captain Fantastic, Green Book, and Eastern Promises. Mortensen has just appeared in Crimes of the Future, David Cronenberg’s comeback to the big screen.
Mortensen commented on filming by saying: “My intention is to give justice to the narrative of a remarkably resilient lady living in a lawless and remote section of the U.S. Southwest in the 1860s,” stated Viggo Mortensen. Vivienne is a strong, honest, and empathetic lady who can adapt to any situation. Rather than just casting a woman in the lead role, as is often done in Westerns, we want her to be the story’s driving force due to her ferocious independence. Since she acts on her principles, thinks ahead of her time, and loves life, Vivienne is a rare and inspiring example of a true woman. As lucky as we are to have the wonderful Vicky Krieps play this part, we aim to do justice to her exceptional life with the aid of the great team we have created with the support of Talipot Studio.
Cast members Solly McLeod, Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt, Tom Bateman, Lance Henriksen, and W. Earl Brown will join Viggo Mortensen and Vicky Krieps. Mortensen, together with Regina Solórzano and Jeremy Thomas, will produce the film. An additional statement from Solórzano on the film reads as follows: As the author puts it, “The Dead Don’t Hurt revolutionises the codes of the Western genre, leaving the concept of the war of men aside to witness a love story free of archetypes, and the struggle and determination of a woman to win the most epic of battles: surviving abuse and extreme violence without ever betraying herself.”
Synopsis
Set in the 1860s, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a Western romance. Krieps plays the role of Vivienne Le Coudy, a fiercely independent French Canadian, who begins a romance with Holger Olsen, a Danish immigrant (Mortensen). Vivienne meets Olsen in San Francisco and decides to move in with him at his house outside of Elk Flats. The Civil War drives them apart, and Vivienne is left to fend for herself in a town ruled by the corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller (McLeod) and the violent, wayward son of the wealthy rancher Alfred Jeffries (Dillahunt) (Huston).
With Olsen’s eventual return, they’ll have to face and accept the people they’ve become as a couple. The Dead Don’t Hurt is a depiction of a fierce woman who is determined to stand up for herself in a harsh society governed by vicious men; it is both a sad love story and a narrative of retribution.