For his sophomore directorial feature, Viggo Mortensen offers a new take on the Western genre with The Dead Don't Hurt. The film follows Holger (Mortensen) and Vivienne (Vicky Krieps) as the threat of the Civil War looms large in their frontier town in Nevada. When Holger decides to fight for the Union, Vivienne faces serious threats on the homefront, courtesy of the town's corrupt mayor (Danny Huston), his rancher business partner (Garret Dillahunt) and the rancher's violent son (Solly McLeod).

Ahead of the film's release in UK cinemas, Mortensen and Krieps sat down with FILMHOUNDS to discuss reinventing the Western, violence in cinema, finding redemption in their roles and why The Dead Don't Hurt is a must-see for any fan of Lord of the Rings.

For yourself Viggo, you've been attracted to the genre as an actor. So I just want to ask how that affects your influence when you're approaching it now as a writer and director?

Viggo Mortensen: I learned things doing those other movies, and I learned things watching Westerns since I was a kid, and I learned things riding horses which I did as a kid too. So all those things enter but I wasn't conscious of trying to imitate anything other than just trying to make an old-fashioned looking, photographically speaking, Western. But as a story, it's different because Vivienne is the centre of the story which is unusual for this genre. 

And there's such an authenticity to how the film is written — even the dialogue. For yourself, Vicky, how do you prepare for that? Is there any challenge in capturing that in the character?

Vicky Krieps: Not really. I think the opposite is a problem for me. It's always weird for me to talk about my job because it's a job that is one of the oldest things people have done. But I still don't really understand what acting is other than what we do when we're children and we just play, you know? So a lot of it is the same thing that we do as children. And then there's a little bit of knowing your script, knowing where you need to go. But a lot of it is very intuitive. So in order to get authenticity, it doesn't feel like I have to work for authenticity. It's more that I have authenticity and then I have to work to make it look good. I have to work so it fits the timing. That is actually the work: to keep and maintain authenticity. But yet turn it into a form that can serve the film, you know?

And I guess it's rare to be acting alongside the writer and the director. Does that allow for a bit of reinvention in the scenes? Does it make it more or less collaborative, having that person there in the scene with you?

VK: Both. I get this question a lot. I didn't think about it before but having these questions on this film, I think it's very much like every other film, you know? Because I'm not consciously thinking “Oh, he is only the director.” When he approached me, he approached me as a director so I never really thought of that. And then when Viggo decided to to play it himself, it was obvious. It just felt very natural and it made sense for him to be that character and then I never thought about it again, we just found a flow in our work. If anything, it helped to keep me on my toes because you have to be really aware of “Where is it coming from? Where are you going? Am I concentrating only on me and my acting and I want to please the director, or am I actually answering the person who is in front me, who also happens to be the director?” It becomes a dance. But it was beneficial, I think, to the world of the movie to have him right there.

Viggo, you composed the film as well and recorded it all before shooting. As a storyteller, what sort of creative freedom does that present, having obviously that control over the sound but having that all in your head before you even pick up a camera?

VM: It's all kind of connected to the writing, really. I mean, even looking for locations is part of the writing. You change the scenes a little bit when you find a place. OK? This has to happen differently or maybe some of this dialogue isn't necessary. You realise when you're working with someone like Vicky or one of the other actors and you see them do something and you realise it's already understood what's happening. So we can take that word out or this word, you know? I rewrote it a lot. The more you do before you start shooting, the better and the more prepared everyone is. Then you're not stressed out. You're not spending most of your energy and time thinking ‘what is the line' and ‘what is the scene about?' You already know what the scene is about. You have a plan, how you're gonna shoot it. You have music for some of the scenes already. You know what tone and the mood is and all of that is part of the screenwriting. I think it's the same thing. The music, to me, is part of the script and for the musicians that I recorded music with, for example, I talked to them about the scenes. So the script informed how we did the music and then the music informed us, as a team, how we shot the movie so it's back and forth, it's very tied together and that way, ideally, it's organic. And it doesn't feel like ‘well, why is that music there suddenly', it's like ‘no, it makes sense'.

The genre is notorious for its depiction of violence and I think the film has a very interesting way of approaching that. As a filmmaker and an actor, what is important to convey about those scenes when you do have them?

VK: The main thing about this film is that it is a Western film but it's very modern in the sense that it shows people and has a woman in the centre. But she's not in the centre because she's a woman, but because she's human. So I think it's a very human film about humanity, about the deep structures of humanity, how we can never get it to work, but we keep trying and about love and relationships and how they work. You always end up having these fights but, actually, you just love someone. Why is it not possible yet possible? Why can humans not behave and not go to war? But yet they have to go but yet they all know it's wrong. I think people are all, deep inside themselves, good. Good people. And because of the structure that society takes, we are led to become these puppets. And I think the movie is about many things but I think the most important is that it's just very humane. And it's really just showing people a little piece of humanity that's important to show nowadays because it's important to be human in a world that is deeply disrupted and full of wars and, especially as a woman, instead of shouting revenge, it's better to speak about healing and speak about where we come from.

VM: Yeah I think in terms of violence, whether it's sexual violence or gun fights or someone getting beat up, all those things, when movies are done well, at least to my taste, it's just as important what you don't show as what you show. Sometimes that's more important. And I like it when I see a movie where I feel like the director, and the team making the movie, respect my intelligence and respect that I can figure out certain things on my own. I don't have to have everything explained to me by the music or by slow-motion violence. It's not a movie about violence, although violence occurs in it and, like Vicky was saying, kindness and forgiveness, forgiving other people, and forgiving yourself are much more important than vengeance in this story. So it was important for us to make sure everything in the film was depicted as such.

I'm sure you've been asked about this a lot but as a Lord of the Rings fan, I have to ask about Aragorn's sword in the film. How does that come about? Is it a purposeful use of the sword or was it just more out of convenience?

VM: It was a last-minute thing. We had this knight and his costume, including his helmet. We had a lance with a banner. We had the right horse, and I just wanted to have a sword as well. And they said “What kind?” I said “Well, a mediaeval sword”, and we looked at some different ones or they showed me ones that they had available and they were okay but they weren't that interesting. So I said “Well, maybe more like this”, and I showed them a picture of one of the swords from Lord of the Rings. I showed them, actually, both of the ones I used. So they said “Can you get permission?” So I asked Peter Jackson for permission. It wasn't the plan from the beginning. We just did it. But we had to ask for permission because, even though you only see it for a few seconds, somebody, like you, will notice it eventually. And so we did that. So I would like to take the opportunity to say that if you're a true Lord of the Rings fan, I'm not saying you're obligated, but you have to go and see this movie on the big screen so you see this sword. I think you're not a true die-for-it Lord of the Rings fan if you miss seeing this movie in a theatre. Just my opinion.

This is a question for both of you, as you guys have had such interesting filmographies. You always, I think, pick the complicated roles, the nuanced roles as opposed to the the mainstream or easier roles. I'm just curious, what is it that you guys look for in a script? What is it that jumps out?

VK: I'm going to take this one. In the car, on our way here, I spoke to Viggo and it was interesting what he said because what he said was “I'm interested in when I play a role, what else is this person doing? What else is this person thinking that we don't see?” And I think that's what it is. You have a script and certain characters are what they are on paper and other characters, you know immediately that there's a whole world behind that character and then you become curious and then you wanna go and play with that. I think it has to do with depth somehow.

VM: I also think that's true. And I think that when you're preparing a role and then you're shooting and doing promotion, this is a really long part of your life. Each movie takes time and lots of energy so you might as well be doing something that, at least on paper, the blueprint, was good. And even if it doesn't turn out to be a good movie, it could be. And I'm going to learn something here. It's better to do that if you're gonna spend all that time talking about it. Sometimes you just need a job, you have rent, and I've been through that. When you're starting as an actor, obviously, you're just looking for any experience. But since I've been able to make a living at it, I have waited as long as I could until something found me or I found it. That I was a little afraid of and I'm afraid because I don't understand that I could learn something. And at least then, when I'm talking to you, whether the movie turned out great or not, at least the story is something interesting to talk about. I don't have to say “Oh, jokes” and “We had pizza every Friday”, and anything but talk about the movie because I know it was never going to be good, you know what I mean? So I try to pick things that I know could be something special.

Obviously you've done a reinvention of the Western genre. I know you've spoken about how it wasn't a purposeful decision to make a Western but what's next in terms of writing and directing? Are there any other genres you would love to put your spin on?

VM: I mean, I don't really think about roles or directors or genres. I just read a story. And to me, if they say “Oh, you know, famous director”, it doesn't matter. Some actors do say that. I don't feel that way To me, it's the story. And if I don't like it, even if it's the best director in the world, I don't want to do it and maybe that's stupid career-wise. But I would rather just feel honestly good about what I'm trying to do. Next? I don't know. I have written some other screenplays over the years, and I have one. It's a small movie and I realise it's not something that will be seen everywhere, it's in Spanish. It's a story I'd like to tell. It's an Argentine story, and I might do that. They're having a hard time down there. It's hard to shoot now. It always was. But now with the economy and everything that's going on politically, they're up against the wall. But, you know, in times of adversity, people tend to be resilient and inventive and I'm sure that some good cinema will come out there.

VK: That is true. I was in Cannes and I was on the jury for Un Certain Regard and what struck me most was the resilience. I mean, movies are coming from everywhere in the world right now, from places you would never think, and people are making films with nothing but it doesn't matter because they have something to tell. And that's the power of cinema.

Touching on the power of cinema, the film is out this weekend. What do you guys hope audiences take away from The Dead Don't Hurt?

VM: I hope they fall in love with Vivienne, the way the characters did and the way our crew did.

VK: I hope people go see the film who usually don't see a Western and come out and say “I really like that one”.

VM: Yeah, we've heard that from some people. 

From people who don't like Westerns?

VM: Yeah. Sometimes it's men. Sometimes it's women. But they'll say “I don't really see westerns” or sometimes they say “I just don't like westerns but I like this movie”. That's good. Maybe they go see some other Westerns, too, as a result, but, yeah, it's a genre that you can do lots of different things with. And I think there were lots of Viviennes in that time. It's just that people didn't care to tell their stories so maybe, hopefully, there'll be some more.

The Dead Don't Hurt is out now in UK cinemas

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