Butcher’s Crossing film directed by Gabe Polsky and starring Nicolas Cage, and Fred Hechinger. Will a young man on a trip to see the States and find himself? Heads west to him a man his family helped in Boston. Not knowing what he will find he heads out and is on a deadly trip out west. He finds the man who is a buffalo hide trader and finds out fast how cold and hard the world is. He meets Miller a hunter with a tale of a place full of buffalo as far as the eye can see. He talks Will into funding the hunt and within a few days, they set off on a dangerous trip into the wild.

Miller put together a small team but they are not prepared for what they will face. They make it to the place Miller spoke of and find a massive herd of buffalo. Just Miller starts to lose himself in the hunt hellbent on killing the whole herd. As fall starts to come to an end they fight and Miller will not leave putting them in a life-and-death spot. Winter has hit full force and now it’s a game of surviving the winter with no shelter or supplies. As the winter comes they all start to despise each other and tempers flare some will not make it back home. Those who survived head back they must leave more than half the hides. Only to have tragedy strike on the way back they make it home to find the market has collapsed on the hide trade. Finding out there is no money Miller loses it and takes matters into his own hands with the hide buyer.

The film is based on a novel as well as the mass hunting of buffalo to near extinction. Miller played by Nicolas Cage in the way only he can bring a character to life. A look at the madness of Miller’s mind that started to drive the others mad in their own right. Each one of them went mad little by little after Miller. The story is well done and grips you into the madness. I give this one an 8 out of 10 the cinematography and locations are stunning. I enjoyed this one for the rawness of Will’s story a young wet behind the ears young man descent into madness. All for wanting to see the world and live life and he lived a nightmare that forever changed him.