The Last Manhunt (2022)

2 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Poster 'Boy'

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Even if the languid, loping storytelling lacks urgency, this small-scale, well-acted Western employs its rich, pictorial visual scheme to update the Willie Boy story in interesting, relevant ways.

It's 1909 in California and the waning days of the Wild West. Desert runner Willie Boy (Martin Sensmeier) falls in love with Carlota (Mainei Kinimaka), of the Chemehuevi tribe, although the romance is strictly forbidden by her father, the chief (Zahn McClarnon). After a horrible accident resulting in a death, Willie Boy and Carlota escape into the desert, where Willie Boy's skills can keep them alive.

As the killing occurred outside Chemehuevi territory, Sheriff Wilson (Christian Camargo) assembles a posse to find Willie Boy and bring him to justice. Unfortunately, the Chemehuevi people go out on their own with the intention of killing Willie Boy. And the Sheriff's scheming right-hand man Ben (Jamie Sives) and an unethical newspaperman (Mojean Aria) conspire to do Willie Boy even more harm. Can Willie Boy survive?

Jason Momoa spearheaded this project, a true story that was previously filmed as Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here in 1969, operating as executive producer and co-writing the story, although he only appears in a few scenes himself. (His fans may be disappointed.) He also recruited his co-stars from the Applt TV+ series See, casting Mainei Kinimaka as Carlota and Christian Camargo as the sheriff.

Camargo also directs, bringing a strong directorial style to The Last Manhunt, making it feel like a mini-Terrence Malick effort, shot in a narrow aspect ration, and decorated with striking tracking shots and gorgeous "magic hour" images. (The movie's biggest flaw is easily its all-too-generic title.)

Willie Boy, who is a victim of circumstance and wrongly accused of murder, and Carlota are less fully-fleshed out characters than they are symbolic, on hand mostly to demonstrate the evils of prejudice. But the white characters are fatally flawed, rather than being heroes. Every character is clouded by something here, whether it be regret, grief, revenge, prejudice, or merely a dark twist of fate.

The biggest change to the story is the addition of the newspaperman, who knows that fear sells papers, and is not only willing but eager to flat-out lie about Willie Boy in his stories. He's an obvious forerunner to today's barrage of angry, politically-slanted commentary disguising itself as news, and its use of racism to flip Willie Boy into a creature to be feared and hated hits home. The Last Manhunt leaves off with a striking image, a shocking hypocrisy, sure to remain seared in the memory.