Genre: Western
Director: Kogonada
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: John Cho, Gary Oldman, Hugo Weaving, Timothee Chalamet, Lola Kirke, Bill Camp, Paul Sparks, Holt McCallany, John Carroll Lynch, Carrie Coon
Plot: In 1864, Lin (John Cho) is a Chinese immigrant in Cascade, California who has been hired to help build the Central Pacific Railroad. He and his fellow immigrants work long, intense hours and are rewarded minimally monetarily. He finds solace in his loneliness when Vivienne (Lola Kirke) – the daughter of railroad baron Dick Morrow (Hugo Weaving) – takes a liking to him. Their flirtation eventually escalates into a full-on affair, which they keep on the down-low. While Lin is at first unsure if she actually likes him or is just using him as a pawn in the mind games between her and her father, she makes it clear that she is attracted to his character and does not care about his race.
One night as they make love, notorious town drunk Jo Adamms (John Carroll Lynch) stumbles upon their romantic rendezvous as he is so drunk that he lumbers from place to place to find his home. He doesn’t say anything and leaves although Lin and Vivienne worry that they heard something outside. Vivienne tells him she has hope that they can find a way for them to spend their entire lives together. Moments later, Lin’s door is knocked down and Morrow bursts in with Jo and a few goonies by his side. Morrow, disgusted, tells the men to do something about the yellow-man and ensure that he never has to see him again. Two of the goons hold down Lin and tell him won’t ever be making love to a white girl again. They proceed to castrate him and then cut out his tongue for good measure. Jo, still very drunk, rapes Vivienne in the background. They tie Lin up and carry him outside to his horse. They place him on top of it and send him on his way.
Lin is able to untie himself and stops in Glen Meadows, the first town he can find. As it is late at night, he visits one of the few places that look open – the brothel. He stumbles in and is told by the head madam Helen (Carrie Coon) that all the girls are taken and they probably won’t sleep with someone like him anyways. Lin opens his mouth and blood gushes out, making it immediately clear that he is in need of medical attention. She uses her limited knowledge to treat his wounds on both parts of his body and suggests he visit the town doctor the next day.
After being treated, Lin heads back to Helen’s business to thank her for compassion the night before (through visual cues as he cannot talk). Unsure of his backstory or where he came from, Helen is sympathetic towards him and offers to help him run a laundry business out of the back of her brothel (Helen assumes that’s what he does as it was one of the few occupations that Chinese immigrants were allowed to do). Unsure if he’d be able to get work elsewhere given his communication issues, he accepts her offer.
17 years later, 1881. While still a definite other, Lin has firmly established himself as a part of the community in Glen Meadows. The town is now thriving with the railroad coming through it and Lin’s business has been successful as a result. Lin is visiting his good friend Helen when three rough-looking men enter the brothel. One introduces himself as Sid Haynes (Gary Oldman) and his companions as his brothers Chester (Holt McCallany) and Whit (Paul Sparks). As Sid negotiates with Helen regarding their arrangements for the night, she digs into why the men are showing up in town. Sid says there is something about Helen’s face that makes him feel safe telling her a secret – they have been on a journey westward to murder Dick Morrow. In expanding his railroad, he cheated them in a deal for their homestead and their life has been ruined ever since. They want to put things into their own hands and get revenge on him.
Lin’s ears perk up after hearing this. After the Haynes brothers go upstairs with their ladies, Lin uses his special form of communication with Helen to let her know that Cascade is where he came from. She figures out that both the love of his life is there and that is where he was brutally beaten. Helen hugs Lin, this having been the first time she has learned of his true past. The next morning, she tells the Haynes boys that Lin would like to join them on their journey to Cascade as he was from there. They are dismissive of this foreigner joining them but Helen – knowing these men will respect a fellow revenge-seeker – appeals to their senses by describing the vicious attack Lin sustained at the hands of Morrow. Shocked, they nod their head at Lin and tell him he can tag along, assuming he will get the same joy that they do out of killing him.
When they arrive in Cascade, Lin covers his face with a bandana to mask his identity - in case someone will recognize him. Lin leads the brothers to Morrow’s compound to gain intel on his plans to help plot out when and how they’ll kill him. They observe Morrow and his wife having supper with a young man named Ben (Timothee Chalamet). They find out that Morrow will be attending a poker game at the saloon the following night and the Haynes Gang decide that is when they’ll strike. With his own agenda, Lin checks all the windows of Morrow’s home, hoping to spot Vivienne. The finale room he checks, her bedroom, is emptied out – making Lin realize she doesn’t live there anymore.
The next day, Sid and his brothers pay an early visit to the saloon and there they run into Jo Adamms there. He is friendly towards them and they have a jolly good time. Lin, who has been observing from the outside as monitors the gang’s horses, decided to enter. Although Lin keeps his bandana on, his eyes are clearly visible – with the slight hope that Jo recognizes him. Instead, Jo just generalizes him as another immigrant and complains to the bartender that a Chinaman shouldn’t be allowed here. When the Haynes gang say he is with them, Jo starts to spew off more racist stuff which prompts Sid to grab Jo by the collar and threaten him. Under his bandana, Lin cracks a smile after seeing Sid stand up for him.
Before the violence can escalate, in walks Sheriff Kenneth Cotton (Bill Camp) with young Ben by his side. Lin slips outside but stays behind to overhear the conversation. Cotton is inquisitive about why the Haynes brothers are here in Cascade. They explain that they are railroad men and that they are here on business. Cotton is suspicious but doesn’t challenge them. When he offers to escort them to meet with Morrow, Sid says they’ve already arranged a meeting and that they don’t need any kind of mediator there.
Sid and Cotton actually begin to converse in a friendly manner and Sid tells him about where they’re from. When Sid asks about Ben, Cotton explains that he is the grandson of Morrow and that, despite only being 16, he is the young apprentice of Cotton. This sends chills down Lin’s spine, knowing that Vivienne is Morrow’s only child. Sid asks Ben why he’d want to become a lawman and Ben explains that his dad was murdered before he was born and he feels its his job to prevent other kids from experiencing the same loss. Sid asks the kid if he has killed a man yet and he says that he has not – he will only do that when necessary. When Whit asks Ben what his mama thinks of him entering this line of work, Ben explains that his passed away and that he is why he was raised by his grandparents. Outside, Lin is trembling and leaves the saloon behind. After he leaves, Sid respectfully asks Ben how his mother died and Ben tells him she died during childbirth.
Lin visits the cemetery and finds Vivienne’s grave. He gets down on his knees and presses his head against the grass. As he is walking away, he encounters Jo on his way back from the saloon. When Jo says another off-hand racist remark, Lin takes him by arm and puts him on the ground. While Jo tries to squirm out, Lin removes his bandana and Jo still doesn’t recognize him. He takes off his bandana and opens his mouth and suddenly Jo realizes who this is. Jo starts to laugh and asks Lin what he thinks of Jo’s beautiful boy back there (in reference to Ben). Lin realizes that Ben’s story about his father dying was only a lie told to him by Morrow as a cover-up. He clinches his fists but did came back to Cascade to see his love and not for revenge, so he simply ties Jo up and leaves him on the ground.
Later that night, the saloon is packed and has a raucous atmosphere. Haynes and Lin enter the bar and initially blend in. When Morrow recognizes Sid and his brothers, the gang pull out their guns and clear out the place. As Lin watches the door, Chester and Whit tie Morrow up as Sid monologues about the corrupt nature of Morrow’s business practices. He places his gun in Morrow’s mouth and declares himself judge, jury, and executioner and Morrow is guilty. As he cocks back the hammer on his revolver, Cotton bursts into the bar with his gun pointing at Sid and Ben at his side – also a gun drawn.
As Chester and Whit pull out their guns, Lin immediately pistol-whips Ben with his revolver and knocks him out. Sid pulls the trigger in Morrow’s mouth, killing him instantly. Simultaneously, Cotton kills Whit and Chester in successive shots. Whit did get a piece of Cotton and so he falls to the ground but is still breathing. Sid approaches Cotton and again cocks back his revolver. This time, however, he points the gun at an unconscious Ben lying next to Cotton. Sid tells Cotton that he warned them not to get involved in his business. As Sid is about to shoot, Lin places his revolver to the back of Sid’s head, closes his eyes, and pulls the trigger.
Lin surveys the bar. Morrow and the Haynes Gang are all dead and Cotton is critically injured. Ben has a head injury from being knocked out. Lin picks him up to take him to the nearest doctor. As he is carrying him, Ben wakes up. While Ben slowly regains consciousness, Lin removes his bandana in hopes that Vivienne told Ben about him and he can connect the dots (he isn’t aware that she died in childbirth). It becomes immediately clear that Ben does not recognize him at all, prompting Lin to cry as he cannot verbally communicate his identity. Lin decides to carry Ben to the cemetery, hoping that going to Vivienne’s grave will show Ben that Lin knew her. As they enter the cemetery, Ben thinks he has symbolically been taken here to be killed. He acts as though he is still in a daze but slowly puts his hand on his revolver. He quickly whips out the gun and shoots Lin point blank in the head. Lin lays lifeless only feet away from his beloved Vivienne.
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