I reckon it's quite a testament to the confidence of Nicholas Hoult that he's prepared to take on a role quite this odious. He's "Bob", an intelligent white supremacist who has splintered from an arian church scenario and allied with a few like-minded people. The arrival of "Husk" (Jude Law) to the area's long abandoned FBI office might put a fly in his ointment, though, as he befriends enthusiastic cop "Jamie" (Tye Sheridan) and both try to get to the bottom of the increasingly audacious crimes being carried out in the name of reclaiming the beautiful and unspoilt land of Idaho, and even the broader USA itself, from it's impure interlopers. It's a little slow off the mark, but once we have the battle lines set out and realise that both of these men are capable of playing cat and mouse ruthlessly, the drama gathers a pace that's well held together by the two protagonists. It shines quite a forceful light on the dangers of jingoism and also quite interestingly tries to present us with some modicum of the rationales behind what drives this innate hatred, or at least tolerates it. With an increasing degree of zealousness appearing once again in Europe, this serves as quite a well written and characterful lesson in just how easily traction can be found when fear and loathing are peddled together with ignorance or religion or, most toxically, both. I could have been doing without the agent's familial backstory. It seems we just can't hit the ground running with the story in hand without having to trawl through his past, his traumas and his excessive drinking habits; but I don't suppose that interfered too much as we headed to a denouement that's historical fact, and quite potently presented.
