NEWS OF THE WORLD (ON DEMAND AND STREAMING SERVICES)

Inimitable Tom Hanks adds to his repertoire of captivating characters with his elucidation of “Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd”, a Civil War veteran, traveling the untutored west in 1870, preaching the “news of the world”, in layman terms, a town crier; Hanks imbues Kidd with a refined elegance, dignity, a compelling grace, but when tested, his ire cannot be bested; discovering a wild child, “Johanna”, kidnapped and left stranded by the Kiowa tribe; inherited sense of obligation fuses his determination to return her to relatives, a journey fraught with considerable confrontations; newcomer Helena Zengel joins ranks with prodigious neophytes: Shirley Temple, Mickey Rooney, Tatum O’Neal, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Thomas, McKenna Grace; Zengel’s gritty, intense interpretation cements admiration from the onset, stunning viewers with her intuitive interpretation of the stranded Johanna.

Director Paul Greengrass (Bourne Franchise, “Captain Phillips”), with engrossing skill, transfixes “News of the World” as a comforting, soothing salve for a Pandemically exhausted audience.

THREE & ½ STARS!!!

Peneflix