Academy Award-nominee Viggo Mortensen returns to the Toronto International Film Festival for his second feature, The Dead Don’t Hurt, as writer-director since Falling in 2020. While promoting the film with co-star and lead Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread), the two sat down with Editor-in-chief Steve Weintraub at Collider’s TIFF media studio at the Cinema Center at MARBL to explore the writing process and the duo’s collaborative chemistry on set.
Set against the harsh backdrop of the American West in the 1860s, Mortensen’s sophomore film brews just on the precipice of the Civil War. Told out of chronological order, The Dead Don’t Hurt introduces us to the ruthlessness of the world around immigrants Vivienne Le Coudy (Krieps) and Holger Olsen (Mortensen), who set out to make a home for themselves on the wilderness of Nevada before Olsen leaves to fight for the Union. Left alone, Vivienne must fight to survive and stake her claim in a town controlled by corruption. Mortensen and Krieps are joined by Solly McLeod (Jericho Ridge), Danny Huston (Children of Men), and Garret Dillahunt (12 Years a Slave).
At Collider’s studio, Mortensen and Krieps discuss their eagerness to work together, why Krieps was the right actress to bring Vivienne’s spirit to screen, and how they found tension and unique moments in the script. Mortensen also talks about exploring the Western genre, the unconventional and nonlinear storytelling he favors for his films, and experimenting with complex themes and the feminine versus masculine.
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