‘Surrounded’ Review – Faithful Western Promises Glory Beyond The Gunslinging

Surrounded is good old-fashioned gold. This film is a patient, contemplative western drama with strong performances that feed thrilling conversations, which are the core of all the conflict. Blood taints the snow, but reveals the truth in the water once it melts away.

The film has an ending that is purely grounded in a huge revelation, one of those that puts a smile on your face simply because it’s so triumphant. After enduring all the tension up to that point, the climactic moment is designed to lift the soul above it all, and it succeeds in classic, ride-off-into-the-sunset fashion.

Director Anthony Mandler opens the film with a long shot following the silhouetted Mo Washington (Letitia Wright) as she makes her way throughout the town towards the saloon. She keeps her head down, passing by both good and evil in the pursuit of a hot coffee. She’s minding her own business, not only because she wants to, but because she has to, as we soon find out. The sun rises in the background as she walks, operating as a visual representation of the slow disclosure of character that is communicated in the sequence.

By the time she enters the saloon and we see her face for the first time, we know more about her than any basic exposition dump could’ve relayed. The opening is superb visual storytelling, and with it, Surrounded is just getting started. The entire film commits to a slow pace by using the visuals to tell much of the story, which is why the aforementioned final revelation, which operates in total silence and on visuals alone, works so well. The through-line is concise, meaningful beauty.

The film does break things up with action occasionally, and it’s serviceable. The sequences match the grounded nature of the rest of the film, and while the visual communication in these scenes could be better, they feel very raw and akin to the overall vision. Mo’s character benefits from these arrangements too, and once a specific piece of her past is revealed, it makes them all the more compelling. Said reveal is one of the many examples of methodical storytelling in a film that isn’t content with just playing it straight.

Surrounded is constantly subverting expectations, though not just for the sake of it. The plot is threaded in layers. The story is relatively simple in concept, made complex by the characters and their backgrounds within it. All the characters’ histories, both deeply detailed and briefly referenced, are the primary supply for narrative momentum, and the reason that those bits of past information surface, much like Mo’s reveal, is always due to something we’ve seen happen in the present.

Everything is interconnected on the page, and it all translates so well. Characters surface important details casually within conversation because it makes sense within the context of the story, but it also manages to tell us more about them and further both our understanding of them and our care for them. Equal parts sensible and surprising storytelling, and wholly impressive.

In the same vein, for a film with such a small scope, Mandler manages to make this story feel massive. Almost the entire thing takes place in one location, with the main cast consisting of two, maybe three consistent characters. Yet the film feels grand, and thrives on a sense of inherent importance. There are plenty of reasons for this, but what really pushes the notion of higher significance are the spiritual undertones present in the theming.

“Your faith is your freedom”, says an outlaw to Mo. Despite being enemies up to that point, she looks upon them with sympathetic understanding in what is maybe the most powerful moment in the entire film, a film that isn’t short on such moments at that. She makes her first real human connection, only for it to be cut short after a few mere moments. Albeit bittersweet, the connection is tangible, and marks her apparent newfound loneliness with a special sting.

But the pain doesn’t last long, because it’s slowly made clear that Mo isn’t alone after all. What follows is the final nail in the coffin regarding her journey, and it ensures her place in the genre as a memorable, fully fleshed out western protagonist for the ages. Mo’s story is the perfect tale of perseverance and enlightenment bolstered by the ever-relatable backbone that is belief in oneself. A quintessential western that still manages to break the mold.

Surrounded would be a sharp experience in the theater, but whatever way you can manage to see it will do. It’s a great western, but beyond that, it’s a powerful story about humans and powers greater than them. Surrounded is easy to watch and hard to forget. Don’t let it slip under your saddle.

Surrounded will be available on Digital platforms on June 20, 2023 courtesy of MGM. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1PcWQcsQuE]