Genre: Drama
Director: Taylor Sheridan
Writer: Rachel Hallett Hardcastle
Cast: Liam Neeson, Timothy Olyphant, Jack Quaid, Emmy Rossum, Lily Gladstone, Asher Angel, Richard Jenkins, Oakes Fegley, Brenda Song, Jena Malone
Plot: Frank Nevada Sr. (Liam Neeson) is a curmudgeonly old Montana ranch owner with a simple ritual. On the first of each month, Maya comes to clean his house and take him into town. In Glass Valley at Dutch’s Barbershop, Frank gets a trim, picks up his prescriptions, buys his supplies from the Cole Mercantile, does his banking at Wachovia, and has lunch at the Steak Knife restaurant. His own lunch ritual: the waitress delivers him a thick, juicy t-bone steak and then a considerable side of fries. He cuts up his steak, savors the juices, spits out each piece, and then sucks the French fries’ salt.
In September, Frank's routine goes off without a hitch. A bank teller ignores him. An elderly checkout clerk gripes about struggling against a competing warehouse store and then seeing Hank (Timothy Olyphant), a mysterious man who once knew Frank at the Steak Knife. Also, Maya (Lily Gladstone) gets stuck behind a long train getting late from picking Frank up. Maya resumes like this is a normal thing, paying it no mind.
Back at Frank’s ranch house, he’s left alone. He impulsively dials an unknown phone number but hangs up before completing it. A moment later, the phone rings. It’s a polite, young, male voice informing Frank that he’s won a $1 million sweepstakes. Frank doesn’t react with any surprise initially; he’s sent away for hundreds of sweepstakes over the years. Gradually, it sinks in. He’s so overcome with emotion, and he begins to open up to the voice on the phone, a Canadian calling himself Terry Smith (Asher Angel). Frank rambles about his plans. Among other things, he’ll go on a fishing trip at Final End. The last time Terry went was years ago, with Hank. Terry asks about Hank, but Frank says it was a happy time and asks Terry about fishing since he must fish since he’s in Canada. Terry doesn’t, though. He’s polite, but he edges Frank toward giving him his banking information to deposit the winnings. Frank does so, then invites Terry to come down to Jackson for a prime rib dinner, on Frank. Terry continues to be polite but gets off the phone quickly. Frank excitedly tells his parakeet, his only companion in the house, that they’re millionaires.
October. Still happy, Frank invites Maya and her family to dinner, which shocks her, and she says she’ll think about it. Frank goes to Dutch’s but finds Danny (Oakes Fegley) is the only one there. He’s set up a plasma TV on the wall in front of the barber chairs, and he doesn’t know or care much about Frank doesn’t even know his usual cut. He tells Danny that Dutch passed away in September, and he told Hank, assuming Hank would pass it along to Frank. Frank tells Danny they don’t talk anymore.
Frank passes by the Cole Mercantile, surprised to find a FOR LEASE sign in the window. He goes to The Corner Store, the bulk warehouse store that crushed the mercantile, to buy his groceries and pick up his prescriptions. His inability to find anything in the vast store flusters him, and the dispassionate sales clerks piss him off. He goes to the pharmacy and explains that he used to get his prescriptions from Cole’s. Still, the pharmacist explains that he needs a new prescription from his doctor if he wants medication. Frank doesn’t know what to do with his doctors in Great Falls, Frank can’t remember his name, and he needs the prescriptions. The pharmacist’s apathy infuriates him, so he leaves the pharmacy empty-handed. At the grocery checkout line, the cost is much higher than Frank anticipated. He doesn’t have the cash. The clerk asks if he has a debit card, which he does, but he hasn’t activated it yet. He gets forced to leave the cart of groceries.
Frank goes to Wachovia to get the card activated. Icke, a young CSR, tells him he’s activated the card, but it’s declined because Frank doesn’t have enough money in his account. Frank questions whether he has nearly $35,000 in his statement. Icke tells him that he only has $130. Frank tries to argue, but Icke refuses to help. Despondent, Frank visits the Steak Knife, but he’s both lost his appetite and his money. He stares out the window at the rain.
November. Maya arrives at Frank’s ranch, where she finds an unsettling sight: a month’s worth of mail clumped together, a dank mess inside the house, Frank’s banking information littering the table. The lights and heat are out, not because Frank’s stopped caring but because the respective utilities have been shut off. Frank demands that she leave. She tries to give him the mail, but he wanders away without taking it. Maya notices many of the letters are from Wachovia Bank. She opens them and starts reading. Later, she tells Frank the bank is conducting a fraud investigation, that they recovered some of his $1500, but the rest of it isn’t looking good. These people didn’t just take his money; they wrote unsigned, personal checks, and cashed them. Most of his money will not be recovered. Frank doesn’t get enough to live on from Social Security or his military pension. That’s it. Frank tells Maya that when you’re old and make a mistake, there’s no time to learn from it; you simply are it.
Maya gently suggests Frank sell the ranch, which throws him into such a rage that he fires her and throws her out of the house. Maya’s disappointed, but she respects his wishes. Later, Frank dials that mystery phone number again. A woman named Missie (Jena Malone) answers, but the line goes dead before Frank can get to the point. The phone company finally cut him off. Frank wanders the kitchen when he realizes no chirping is coming from his parakeet’s cage.
That tears it. Frank bursts into the barn, collecting his saddle and bag, shotgun, buckskins, boots, duster, and hat. He empties what’s left in the saddlebag, loads up with ammunition, saddles up Flick, his old, ailing horse, and sets out for Glass Valley, a real old cowboy. A kerchief covering his face, Frank goes to his Wachovia branch, where he berates and browbeats The Bossman (Richard Jenkins), demanding to know if they accept unsigned checks. The Bossman reluctantly admits that, yes, they do. The Bossman tries to calm Frank down, but Frank raises his shotgun and demands his money. A security guard has called the police and has his own gun trained on Frank. Frank tells the Manager to tell “Terry Smith” that he’s coming for him. The Bossman’s baffled.
Frank crosses the town square to the Corner Store, where he fires his shotgun at a massive wall of display-model TVs blaring Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue.” Everyone in the store freaks out. A security guard trails Frank as he arrives at the pharmacy and demands his various medications from the pharmacist. As he moves to leave, the security guard starts firing. He misses. Frank shoots blind, not hitting anything. He grabs a road atlas and runs out an emergency exit, through the back lot to a children’s playground, where Flick grazes. Frank rides away.
Francis “Hank” Frank, JR., the Glass County sheriff, arrives at the Wachovia Bank to investigate. Deputy Randy (Jack Quaid) is already on the scene. According to the eyewitnesses, an elderly man calling himself “El Toro” attempted to rob the bank after claiming they ripped him off by accepting unsigned checks. Hank talks to the still-rattled Manager, who mentions the puzzling “Terry Smith” remark. Before Hank can get more information, Randy tells him about the Corner Store.
At the drugstore, Hank talks with the security guard and then the pharmacist. Based on the medication the older man demanded, Hank tells Randy to search for someone with heart disease, diabetes, and stents. Randy wonders why Hank would know these things. Randy doesn’t even know what a “stint” is, and Hank explains he “used to know someone” afflicted by these ailments. They freeze the security tape, and Hank recognizes Frank but says he has no idea who this older man is.
Frank rides through barren valleys deep into the night. Eventually, he makes camp. He consults his map and spiral notebook for the address of Wachovia’s headquarters in Edge City, then studies the map of northern Montana and Alberta. Hank goes to Frank’s ranch house and finds it empty. Going through the house, he notices Frank’s investigative papers, Wachovia Bank, Terry Smith, Alberta, Windfall Investments. Hank moves on to his old bedroom, presumably left precisely as it was when Frank left home. In an old box, he finds more mementos of his childhood, including photos of her mother, pictures of him as a sullen teenager, pictures of him and Frank fishing at Final End. He’s a little overwhelmed by it all, so he calls his wife, Missie.
Later, Hank goes to a saloon in town for a drink; the bartender questions whether Hank really wants this. Hank ignores him, calling Maya to set up a time to interview her about Frank. He visits Maya’s trailer home, where she lets slip with her nickname for Frank (“El Toro”) and tells Hank everything she knows about the fraudulent sweepstakes, Wachovia's problems, etc. After learning all of this, Hank recalls everything he saw in Frank’s house and considers the probability of Wachovia’s headquarters being his next move.
Frank continues through an open meadow. In the distance, he spots vaqueros driving cattle. Frank approaches, but they don’t speak English. Their Spanish irritates Frank, but he picks out a few English words and identifies which ranch they work for. Frank lies to be from the Frank Ranch Company. He says he’s headed toward Edge City. Although Frank doesn’t immediately understand, they’ve offered to let him ride along with the drive. Hank meets with Randy privately to explain his theory that “El Toro” is heading for Wachovia Headquarters in Edge City, beyond their jurisdiction. Hank wants Randy to go with him but keep the whole thing under his hat. Randy’s reluctant, but he wants to stop “El Toro” as much as Hank.
Edge City is little more than a series of corporate towers incongruously set in the middle of barren prairie land. While Hank stakes out the parking lot, he sends Randy to wait if Frank gets past them. Security guards are immediately on Hank, wondering why he’s loitering. Before Hank can explain the situation, hank hears a low, distant rumble. He spots the brown cloud of dust indicating the cattle drive. Hank barely makes out the image of Frank leading the pack before he vanishes in the dust once again. Hank leaps into his patrol cruiser and heads toward the cloud.
Hank comes upon the vaquero Trail Boss, who keeps a poker face and denies any knowledge of the mysteriously absent Frank. Randy, meanwhile, encounters Frank face-to-face and preps the guards to take him down. Frank lives up to the “El Toro” name, terrifying them just by standing there. He demands to see the bank president, forces them to hand over their weapons, then takes the elevator up to the top floor. As soon as he leaves, Randy radios. The Trail Boss suddenly commands his men for the cattle back to be in the other direction, confusing Hank, who accidentally hits the lights and sirens, causing an immediate stampede in the direction of his cruiser.
The bank president’s assistant, Shelli (Emmy Rossum), insists that he’s gone and seldom at the bank in the first place. Frank doesn’t believe her, bursts into the office and finds it empty. He demands everything she has on Windfall Investments. Shaken, a bloodied Hank falls out of his car as Randy radios again. Hank gets to his feet and walks toward the bank as Randy brings him up to speed on “El Toro.” Shelli returns with a thin manila folder, which disappoints Frank. He waits for Shelli to leave, and in a fit of anger, he shoots up the office. Hank sees the glass hit the street below. He goes inside and tosses Randy a shotgun, telling him not to let Frank leave the building and not shoot him.
Frank asks Shelli for an alternate exit. She leads him into the service elevator, and he tells Shelli to tell Terry Smith that “he can’t stop what’s coming.” This confuses Shelli. After he’s gone, Shelli leads Frank to the service elevator and tells him it goes to the back alley. Hank radios to Randy, who leads the security guards to the passage. Frank’s prepping Flick to ride when Randy approaches. Unafraid, Frank rides away. Hank arrives just in time to see Frank riding off. He shoots in the air, but Frank doesn’t follow. Hank goes back upstairs and gets a copy of Shelli’s Windfall Investments information, asking if he is Terry Smith. Just then, the Blaine County Sheriff arrives, displeased with Hank overextending his authority. As it starts to snow, Hank reluctantly asks for a ride home.
In the open range, Frank faces a veritable blizzard. He manages to get Flick to an abandoned flour mill, where he sets up camp for the night. The Windfall Investments file isn’t thick, but it does contain the company’s address in Bradston, Alberta. With a Sharpie, Frank traces the route from Edge City to Bradston. Out on the plains, Hank’s all bandaged up and watching them tow away his damaged cruiser. Randy arrives with more information, then questions Hank’s sketchy thinking about the situation. Hank turns hostile as Frank was with Maya, but Randy gives as good as he gets, leaving them at a stalemate. Hank decides to go it alone, renting a car and hitting the road for Canada.
Meanwhile, Frank continues to ride through a full-on whiteout. Flick doesn’t make it. Saddened, Frank puts the horse out of his misery and starts walking. He makes it to Bradston, a tiny rural town. He finds the address quickly, and it leads him to one small, sleazy office. Frank pulls a gun on the only man working there. At first, the man denies any knowledge. He then amends it to say he didn’t know until recently that they were doing anything wrong—he was just an office manager. He hands Frank a massive pile of incriminating papers in exchange for his life. Frank demands to know the whereabouts of Terry Smith. Frank asks for his address and a ride to Terry’s house. He leaves the file behind, which Hank finds when he arrives at the Windfall office.
There, Frank’s surprised to find a woman in her late 30s. She calls to Terry, her son, who shouts for her to send the visitor downstairs. He’s 18 or 19, a polite kid who’s baffled by this shotgun-toting cowboy. Frank demands to know why they ripped him off. Terry says he only worked there for a couple of months, but he felt so guilty, he quit. He needed the money to pay for community college. Frank repeats: why him? Terry tells him his name was on a list. Frank’s furious that he told him personal things, things he never talks about to anyone. Terry claims he doesn’t remember, but Frank badgers him until he blurts out, “Final End.”
Frank slaps Terry hard. Terry begins to cry, apologizing all over himself. Frank collapses on the bed. That night, Terry’s mother makes a great meal, a big plate of steaks, mashed potatoes, biscuits. Frank’s freshly showered and shaved. He cuts off a piece of steak, takes a bite, and swallows, savoring it. Frank only has one pill left in each of the bottles. He keeps eating, like a king. Later, Frank's in a recliner. Terry’s mother notices his frostbite-blackened feet. Frank tells her not to bother.
He puts his boots back on and walks into town. He goes into a saloon and asks for a shot of straight-up Jack Daniels. He downs the shot, stares at a wallet-sized photo from his saddlebag, considers. He goes to the bar’s phone booth and dials that mystery number. A teenage girl’s voice answers. Frank tells the girl, Flo (Brenda Song), it’s her grandpa. She says Hank isn’t there. Frank tells her he has some critical things to say. He tells her Hank is a good man and loves Flo and Missie. Frank also tells Flo to let Hank know that Frank’s proud of him and loves him. Flo says she will, and Frank breaks down, almost pleading that he’s a good man. Baffled, Flo asks if he’s all right. Frank tells her everything will be fine then hangs up.
Frank walks out of the saloon, leaving his saddlebags behind. He shuffles off, disappearing into the wilderness. Hank enters the bar but finds Frank’s saddlebags. He asks the bartender about them, then rifles through until he finds the empty prescription bottles with Frank’s name on them. Hank finds the wallet-sized photo and picks it up. It’s an old family portrait—Hank with Missie and Flo at age three, all smiling. Hank goes outside, staring into the darkness, looking around for his father.
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