The Homesman

The Homesman is a 2014 Western historical drama film set in the 1850s Midwest and directed by Tommy Lee Jones. The screenplay by Jones, Kieran Fitzgerald, and Wesley Oliver is based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. The film stars Jones and Hilary Swank and also features Meryl Streep, Grace Gummer, Miranda Otto, Hailee Steinfeld, John Lithgow, Jesse Plemons, and James Spader. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and received a North American limited release on November 14, 2014, by Roadside Attractions. The Homesman has received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating average of 7.1/10. The title refers to the task of taking immigrants back home, which was typically a man's job. Plot In 1854, Mary Bee Cuddy is a 31-year-old spinster from New York, a former teacher who journeyed to the Midwest for more opportunity. She is an active member of the small farming community of Loup in the Nebraska Territory and has significant financial prospects and sizable land ownership. She seems strong and independent but suffers from depression and feels isolated. She makes dinner for her neighbor Bob Giffen and sings to him, but when she proposes, he turns her down, saying she is plain-looking and too bossy. He leaves to find a wife back east.