User reviews

I'm writing this given the limited number of reviews, obviously skewed by those likely associated with the film writing gross exaggerations (worthy of awards etc.) and 1 viewer whose written essentially the same review with a 1 rating three times.

Cinematography is very good, plot has a few good twists that keep up the suspense. For me there were 3 glaring times that essentially "speeches" were awkwardly worked into the dialogue on race, feminism, etc. That really disrupted the continuity and credibility.

On the credibility front the slight female lead proceeds to kill about a dozen men, claims to have been the best soldier in the Union army during the civil war (a war in which physical strength mattered) and at the end chooses to violate the very values she refused to compromise for the entire movie despite great risk and pressure.

It's a mixed bag from my perspective but an interesting watch for a number of reasons.

I found this enjoyable, it shows the harsh reality of the West, racism in a post-Civil War world and the moral ambiguity of people trying to survive on the frontier. If top reviewer thinks people didn't have conversation along those lines they're wrong. This is rw brain rot setting in. Cinematography was good, a few beautiful shots of the American wilderness, action scenes decent though I don't place particular stock in that. I would have liked to see a bit more with the Comanche (and with subs). It kept me entertained and it was suspenseful enough to not get distracted with movies w/this score. I'd watch something similar again and it's better than a 5.6. Women fought in the Civil War as men. Fact. Deal with it. Triggered rw snowflakes get upset at the mere sight of woman or black person in movies now and downvote things with their Cheeto-encrusted fingers. Fact...and it's ruined ratings. Your place is slowly slipping and I laugh.

In simple but effective 1870-set western "Surrounded" ex slave / buffalo soldier Letitia Wright's headed to Colorado when her stage (with the under-rated Jeffrey Donovan & others) is hit by notorious outlaw Jamie Bell (also under-rated) with whom Wright ends up alone in the wilds, engaging in cat n mouse, joined periodically by dubious folk like Michael Kenneth Williams. Although its writing (from Andrew Pagana & Justin Thomas) is unexceptional, it's lifted from mediocrity by excellent (often beautiful) work from 2nd-time director Anthony Mandler & a super-strong performance from Wright. It's not the greatest western ever, but is certainly watchable.

I was pleasantly surprised with 'Surrounded' since I expected the same hackneyed cliches which, yes, were there, but modified into a watchable movie. The director did an amazing job of balancing those very cliches into well portrayed performances by one and all. There were interesting character studies which included both the protagonist and 'the bad guy'. Is anyone all good or all bad? Depending on the circumstances, are we all capable of sliding between those two moral opposites? The cinematography was well done and landscape scenes downright beautiful. If you are willing to watch a western that not only has the gunfights but asks you to explore the motivations behind the action, give 'Surrounded' a try.

The best thing about this movie is the cinematography, it is fantastic. The acting is generally good as well. That, I'm afraid, is where the plaudits end.

The plot is dull. The endless monologues are grating. The ridiculous decisions made by some characters are annoying. The plot conveniences and contrivances such as outlaws twice the size of Laeticia Wright deciding to throw her around instead of just killing her is woeful.

Unfortunately, because of Wright's character, this is nothing but a politically correct borefest. Did the character have to be black? Did the the character have to pretend to be a man?

The ending turns the whole thing into childish fairytale. Avoid.

What's wrong with you people ? Why all the bad reviews?? I found it instead very entertaining, well acted and with a very effective direction. Finally a wonderful and stylish modern western, a tale of suspicion and survival in post civil war New Mexico. Letitia Wright is super cool, Jamie Bell delivers a great performance and it's Michael K. Williams last movie, so what are you waiting for ? The three main characters Mo "Washington", Tommy Walsh and Will Clay have layers of complexity addressing racial and gender inequality, anger, suspicion, trustworthiness and faith that will get out during the memorable stand-off with the notorious outlaw. Despite a low budget and a lot of dialogues that in the central part makes the movie looks like almost as a play, there is a lot of action and firepower that won't disappoint any western fan. The cinematography is superb and the locations are great. It definitely worths to be watched, don't miss it.

Surrounded surprises. In the very beginning, you get the feeling that this is going to be yet another Hollywood movie aimed at teaching the audience a lesson on intersectionality in a historical setting. We get a lot of those from Hollywood these days, and suffice it to say that in their self-satisfaction, pedagogical arrogance and commercial intent, they rarely impress.

But in a few minutes, Surrounded takes a different turn. It uses the condition of Mo Washington (a black woman in the Far West) as a true dramatic lever, creating real tension and interest in the character and the story, and it even links it to cinematic history with abundant references to classic Western films (such as Stagecoach or The Searchers), as if saying that one can both see the injustices in history and also appreciate its beauty. It then adds the possibility of a relationship between this woman and a feared bandit (Tommy Walsh, a white man) who becomes her prisoner, cleverly inverting for a few scenes the traditional balance of power between white men and black women. And it even affords the luxury of adding ambiguity on what's right and what's wrong, who's noble and who's evil, by introducing a bounty hunter character and extracting a sense of humanity and victimhood from Tommy Walsh, and making him a potential savior for Mo, while also her main threat. This type of ambiguity, so rare in Hollywood productions today, adds a ton of dramatic interest to the story.

In that effort, Surrounded loses nothing of its political or society message. On the contrary, the message of historic oppression of black and female populations in the past is only reinforced by the reality of the characters and the intelligence of the scenes. In that first half of the film, Laetitia Wright is amazing as a ruthless woman cowboy, reflecting both the strength and contradictions of her character with depth that almost makes you forget the platitude of the Marvel character that she built her fame on.

Unfortunately, Anthony Madler (the filmmaker) seems to throw the towel in the second half of the film, creating a predictable and somewhat silly second half of the film that is more reminiscent of Rambo than of great Westerns in film history. The depth of the story, the mystery of Mo fall down like a soufflé, and all you're left with is just another B-series Western for a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's too bad. It could have been so much more.

No pun intended - and obviously our main character is not alone in the classical sense. There always is at least another person in close proximity. Not that she is happy for anyone being near her ... but that is a different story. Actually it is the same story - and something that plays out quite nicely towards the end.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I am a bit of a sucker when it comes to western movies or the genre in general. I really like them - and I also have been accused of rating too good. So I reckon you have to take this into account. But I really liked the female lead here (you may know her from Black Panther or some other stuff she has done over the years), but also the other actors. This may be the last movie Michael K. Williams appeared in - he will be missed.

Good suspense, good shootouts - what more can you want and need? Story is well told too of course.

Surrounded is a film I haven't heard much about, it has one if not the last performance of Michael K Williams who sadly died back in 2021 and I can't believe it has been three years since then. The first thing I noticed was how well shot "Surrounded" is, the cinematography was done by Max Goldman, and the film was directed by Anthony Mandler who is mostly known for directing music videos but also of the brilliant legal drama "Monster". Mandler has a great mise-en-scene and shows his capability as a director and storyteller, using lighting and composition brilliantly and all of the other aesthetics to create the best looking film he can. Anthony Mandler produced the film alongside directing it, another producer was actually Letitia Wright along with Jason Michael Berman who was the president for Mandalay Pictures. The film is written by Andrew Pagana and Justin Thomas, and is actually quite a well known cast: Letitia Wright, Jamie Bell, Michael K. Williams, Jeffrey Donovan and Brett Gelman.

Former Buffalo Soldier Mo Washington travels West to lay claim on a gold mine. After her stagecoach is ambushed, Mo is tasked with holding a dangerous outlaw captive and must survive the day when the bandit's gang tries to free him.

Performance wise, I think Letitia Wright did a fine job, great at times. She successfully carried the lead role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, so it felt natural she carried the lead role here too. But the thing is, the supporting cast is so fantastic which makes her in the shadow at times. But it's her character's story, Mo Washington is a well written character. At first glance, perhaps not, but there's so much deep inside of her which Letitia plays out perfectly. I really liked the performance of Jamie Bell, who I haven't seen as the villain but oh my does he play it well. Having this menacing presence with subtle things to his performance which makes it such a physical one, a great one. Jeffrey Donovan was great as Wheeler.

I've explained how much I love the cinematography and direction, but I didn't expect the musical score and sound design to be so perfect and fitting. The sound the revolvers sound and feel on the screen, how loud they're plus the gun smoke afterwards. The attention to detail in this movie is something to write about, all from the town in the beginning to the stagecoach, to the landscape. The costume and makeup department did a great job on this production. It takes half the film to introduce Michael K Williams' character Will Clay, a superb performance and an interesting character.

So what's my final thoughts of "Surrounded", a western that blew my expectations. It has elements of a psychological drama because of the character driven story and how it focuses on Mo's psyche. Does it feel far-fetched how a black woman in this time period is this killer? Not necessarily, if it would have focused on a white woman pretending to be a man, then it would have felt far-fetched. I liked Letitia Wright's performance a lot, same with the character. There's relatability with her and a conversation half way through the film just makes her even more relatable when she explains she's doing all this to honor the family who once lived. Anthony Mandler did an incredible job with this film, making me eager to see what he does next. Although I personally liked it, I understand why some reviewers find it boring as the pacing is slow and the second half is even slower than the first. This is one of those westerns and films that takes itself seriously with no humor, that's not to everyone's liking. The film is about these two characters, Mo Washington and Tommy Walsh, both written and acted brilliantly. Thanks to Michael K Williams' character, the second half becomes interesting, leaning deeper into the theme of loss. Something that hurts each of these three characters. This is a deep western drama that is for adults, I would say.

When a stagecoach is ambushed by a violent gang of outlaws, it is left to the quiet and unassuming war veteran "Mo" (Letitia Wright) to keep an eye on the captured "Tommy" (Jamie Bell) whilst her colleagues go off in search of a bag of loot that their would-be robbers had already stolen. The wily and ruthless "Tommy" tries all sort of tactics to try and get her to trust him - and to untie him from a tree, but she is no shrinking violet and it is only when his own gang turn up and she faces some perilous choices that he ends up at liberty and she finds herself facing the ultimate fight for survival. It's not really a Western, I think, this film - it could easily work the same in an urban environment. It's a more of an attempt at a more sophisticated story that looks at sex and race in what was essentially a white man's rather harsh world, and Wright fulfils the role effectively for the most part. Bell is also a good actor when his temper is allowed to run wild and has a rawness that's usually quite fun to watch too. Add to that duo the rather menacing presence of "Clay" (Michael Kenneth Williams) and we should have been set for a cracking story. Sadly, though - we don't get it. The build up scenes and character establishment tee us up well, but when it comes to the execution of the gist of the story, the thing just falls away and becomes rather procedural and familiar. The photography works well as does Robin Hannibal's score, but the dialogue all-too-quickly becomes rather mono-syllabically banal and the film simply runs out of steam after forty minutes or so. There is something suitably vindicating about the denouement, but by then I'm not sure I really cared that much any more. It's certainly worth a watch but I found it disappointing.

Beautiful scenery, fantastic acting by the leads, exciting action and characters you've never seen before. That stagecoach scene was just a ow. Not sure where between the action and frequent changes of dynamics anyone had the opportunity to feel this was slow or dragged. I did find some of the dialogue and conflict a bit confusing when multiple parties were talking at the same time and will rewatch with subtitles for some missing lines. Overall a good adventure that has you on the edge of your seat (literally) rooting for Letitia to make it. Even my husband liked it and we rarely agree on movies these days.

I gave up after 35 minutes.

The one-dimensional story gives the actors little to work with, the characters themselves are given no complexity by the filmmakers, and there's no amount of iconic western cinematography can salvage things at that point. Given the enormous amount of money that was spent to make this, it should be telling that it's being released pay-to-rent on a single streaming platform. Save yourselves some time and avoid!. Shame really as it had potential but when we got to the tree scene you just know it was gonna get boring really quick. I cannot recommend it to anyone and to be honest there are not many movies I gave up on.

This is a real review from a very picky film buff... I really don't understand the other reviews. This began as an excellent movie, and ended as one. It was well-acted, beautifully shot, had a great story, and the director knew how to blend it together. The cinematography was especially wonderful. For people who didn't "get" this film, they probably have lived a very sheltered life without struggle. I hope to see a follow on to the story.

This is a real review from a very picky film buff... I really don't understand the other reviews. This began as an excellent movie, and ended as one. It was well-acted, beautifully shot, had a great story, and the director knew how to blend it together. The cinematography was especially wonderful. For people who didn't "get" this film, they probably have lived a very sheltered life without struggle. I hope to see a follow on to the story.

Where all the 10/10 are coming from??

Absolutely trash in every way. The director should stick to making home videos, because western film is clearly something he has no talent for. Amazing that they could take such a wonderful actor like Jamie Bell and waste him with such garbage like this. The story has no meaning and is empty, the characters themselves are given no complexity by the director, and there's no amount of iconic western cinematography can salvage things at that point. Given the huge amount of money that was spent to make this, it should be telling that it's being released pay-to-rent on a single streaming platform. Save your time, keep away!

It took me a minute to finally get around to watching this movie. I really didn't know what to expect coming off of viewing what I thought was a pretty good western called 'The Harder They Fall'. But I finally got around to reading some reviews, which I often do when I am torn or lazy about viewing a film I am unsure about taking the time to watch. Once I sat down and began to watch Surrounded, I was consumed by it. The storyline, the magnificent settings, and the acting were great across the board. I thought it was a couple of sentences that had some flaws, but hey, every character or person doesn't react the same when under pressure. But overall, this was an excellent film. I can't say enough about the lead and the supporting actors; they both were outstanding.

Surrounded is a refreshing new Western story that steamrolls the viewer from beginning to end. Letitia Wright is the Lead here and she showcases to the world why she is Lead actress in the business. Letitia has a lot of range and is not just good in Marvel Superhero films. She has been great before Marvel films and has been great after. Surrounded is very gritty and realistic with it's violence/action. There were a couple of times I had to look away because of how real things looked when the bodies started stacking up. The late great Michael K. Williams also pops up in a brief but strong cameo. If you enjoy well acted Westerns then you will enjoy this one. My only con is I wish the villains could have been casted differently. Other then that everything was top notch. Surrounded gets a strong 8 stars out of 10 from me.

This was a great western that isn't typical in the sense of the characters. The storyline although typical is good. It does push you to explore the struggle of humanity within to make choices based on their limited knowledge. A must watch, if you are looking something that isn't littered with foul language and nudity. The cinematography was beautiful, and the landscape scenery was very nice. This film also gave a realistic view of what Life after the War for the Buffalo soldier might have been like in a worlds that was still very primitive and at odds. The actors and soundtrack were impressive as well.

Don't just listen to jealous trolls. Watch and decide for your own self, it's supposed to be a free country, right? Gorgeous natural light, gripping performances in both big and small moments, great lines of dialogue that I wish I wrote, the kind of story that deserves to be told (shouldn't this get awards?), entertaining, not a digital mess like so many movies today, deserves a big screen! Yes I am a bit biased lol but I wouldn't say any of this if I didn't think it was true. Ps. I especially love Michael K Williams' onscreen magic and the liquor peddler with his jovial air of pretense - would've loved even more of both characters but I'll take what I can get! Oh and where can I buy the soundtrack?!