Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you an action, drama film from 2021, titled Old
Henry. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care. In 1906 in Oklahoma, Branigan is trying to escape
from three men wearing sheriff badges: Dugan, Stilwell, and their leader Ketchum. No matter
how fast he runs though, Branigan is still shot and captured. Ketchum kicks him a couple of times,
asking for the location of another man they've been chasing, but Branigan won't confess.
This provokes Ketchum into tying Branigan to a horse and dragging him through the ground until
he finally speaks: the man they're looking for has gone East. Then, instead of freeing him, Ketchum
kills Branigan. Meanwhile, old Henry McCarty and his teenage son Wyatt are working on their farm.
Henry grew up in New York and traveled all over before settling down as a farmer in Oklahoma.
Sadly, he lost his wife to tuberculosis, but her brother Al comes often to give
him a hand and be an uncle to Wyatt. Their life is peaceful and pleasant,
the only thing that often causes arguments is Wyatt's need to travel and learn to shoot a gun,
but Henry won't allow him to do either. It's still early in the day when they suddenly see
a lost horse passing by with a bloodstained saddle and no rider. While Wyatt takes the scared animal
to the farm, Henry takes his own horse and goes to investigate the area, eventually finding an
unconscious man on the ground. His name is Curry and he has been shot on the shoulder,
so Henry covers the wound with some mud and a handkerchief. Then he finds a gun and a satchel
full of money, which tells him there's trouble going on that he doesn't want to be involved in.
However, he barely takes a few steps away before he feels bad for the man, so he comes back,
picks up all the things, and after getting rid of any proof they've been there, he takes Curry back
to the farm with him. Together with Wyatt, they put Curry on a bed and tend his wound.
Once night falls, Henry takes the gun and the satchel with the money to hide them in a secret
compartment in his closet, unaware that Wyatt is spying on him through the space under the door.
The following morning, Henry decides the wound won't get better if they don't remove the bullet,
so he'll go to town to fetch a doctor. But before leaving, he ties Curry to the bed and leaves the
knife he uses to cut the rope on the night table. Once his dad is gone, Wyatt goes to Henry's closet
to check out the hidden compartment. After seeing the money in the satchel, he grabs the
gun and takes it outside to practice shooting at a bottle, although it takes him a few tries
to hit his target. Back in the house, Curry is hearing the shots in his sleep and dreams of the
night his house was burned and his family killed while the culprit told him to keep his head down.
Shortly afterward, Wyatt returns to put the gun back in the closet and takes the chance
to open a box Henry has hidden there a long time ago. Inside, he finds another gun and
a bunch of newspaper clips mentioning various crimes. Speaking of Henry, on the way to town,
he discovers Ketchum and his men have been following the trail Curry left behind.
Stilwell is such a good tracker that he can tell someone has covered Curry's tracks,
so now the trio knows their victim is working with someone else. These men hear some noises
in the tall grass and shoot, but luckily Henry is already running away before they find him.
Back on the farm, Wyatt notices one of the ropes around Curry's hands is kinda loose, and his other
hand has been covered with a blanket. When Wyatt removes that blanket, he discovers the rope is
gone, so Curry takes the chance to stop pretending he's asleep and frees himself. Grabbing the knife
from the night table, he jumps on Wyatt and swears he wouldn't like to hurt him, he just wants his
satchel back. At that moment, Henry comes back and kicks Curry off his son before punching him
until he loses consciousness again. Afterward, they tie Curry to a chair and wake him up.
Having decided is too dangerous to go to town for a doctor, Henry proceeds to use a heated knife
to take out the bullet from Curry's wound while asking some questions. Wriggling and crying with
pain, Curry says he's a lawman and that Henry and Wyatt should leave before it's too late.
The bullet is removed, but before Henry can ask some questions, Ketchum and his men appear outside
the house. Henry goes to grab Curry's gun and smells it's already been shot, so he reloads it
before going outside. Ketchum introduces himself as a sheriff and his partners as his deputies,
then explains they're looking for Curry, who is a dangerous criminal and a killer pretending to be
a sheriff too. Curious about Henry, Ketchum begins asking him some questions about his personal life,
taking a special interest when he hears his name is McCarty because there was a criminal many years
ago with that same last name. Henry tells them he has no family so it can't be a relative of his,
and he hasn't seen anyone fitting Curry's description either, so he dismisses the men.
Before leaving, Ketchum reminds them to lock their doors tonight. Then, Henry goes back to
the house and slaps Wyatt for having used the gun. Wyatt only wanted to know what it feels
like because he's the only boy in the area that was never taught to fire a weapon, so he had to
teach himself. Henry slaps him again for it, so Wyatt insults him and calls him worthless,
claiming Henry will be left alone to die because he'll leave the farm as soon as he's able.
Not wanting to think about how much that hurt, Henry goes to interrogate his prisoner again.
Curry explains he's the real sheriff and the trio are bank robbers that stole the badges from
Curry's deputies after killing them. He managed to recover the money but was hurt in the process,
so he passed out and fell from his horse while escaping, only to wake up here on the
farm later. Why Ketchum didn't shoot Henry is a mystery to Curry, but he's sure they'll be back.
Meanwhile, Ketchum and his men discuss what to do. They don't believe Henry and they wonder why
he's helping a stranger, perhaps he was promised a cut of the money. Dugan doesn't understand why
they didn't shoot him considering they were three against one, so Ketchum explains something weird
is going on. He doesn't think Henry is doing this for the money, and he didn't exactly hold the gun
like a farmer. What they need to do is gather some information first, so Dugan will keep an
eye on the farm while Ketchum and Stilwell go hire some guns and pay Al a visit. Night falls
and Henry makes Wyatt go inside before he finishes his farm chores because it's too dangerous to stay
out this late. Later, Henry feeds Curry some soup himself, causing Curry to complain about
still being tied up. To see if he can trust him, Henry asks Curry some questions about his past.
Curry tells him all the people he had worked and lived with, names that Henry recognizes from his
travels. He also apologizes for having jumped on Wyatt, claiming he had been scared and confused
when he woke up in a strange place. Henry's face rings a bell, but Henry denies having met Curry
before as he decides to at least free one of his hands. Then, Henry leaves his gun on the table
and goes to refill his glass - this is a test to see if Curry would grab it, but he doesn't.
Instead, Curry continues to tell Henry stories from his childhood, including the time he saw
Billy the Kid get shot. It's Billy's voice that Curry heard in his dream earlier.
Hearing the stories and seeing Curry not grab the gun is finally enough for Henry to trust him.
He frees Curry's other hand, gives him back his gun, and tells him to leave his house before
the criminals come back. However, they don't get to discuss the matter further because suddenly,
Dugan begins shooting at them through the window. Curry shoots back and Wyatt comes to
see what's going on, getting a bullet grazing his arm in the process. Still in pain from his wound,
Curry passes out, so Henry grabs his gun as Dugan sneaks underneath the house,
shooting through the floor every time Henry moves. Deciding on a plan, Henry gives the gun to his son
with some shooting tips before throwing a book on the floor to trick Dugan into shooting in that
direction while he runs the opposite way. After grabbing his rifle, Henry goes outside and begins
shooting under the house until Dugan runs out and gets shot in the leg. Henry jumps on him and tries
to make him give up some information, but since Dugan refuses to talk, Henry kills him. In order
to make the body disappear, he feeds it to the pigs after noticing a gang mark on Dugan's skin.
Afterward, Henry takes care of Wyatt's wound while dodging his son's questions about his past.
Wyatt feels his father doesn't respect him, and Henry can't expect to be respected in return.
After checking on Curry, who is dreaming of the fire again, Henry goes outside with his
rifle and waits for the worst. In the morning, Al goes bird hunting, making it easy for Ketchum and
Stilwell to find him. They want to know more about Henry, but Al refuses to answer their questions,
and as soon as he tries to defend himself, he gets knocked out. Back on the farm, Henry and Wyatt
help Curry get dressed so he can leave. However, Curry can barely walk, even less ride a horse,
so he tells them to leave while he stays behind finishing things. Wyatt wants to stay too and
defend his home, but Henry agrees with Curry and gets his son ready to leave. Unfortunately,
when they make it outside, there's a nasty surprised waiting for them: Ketchum and Stilwell
are back with a bunch of hired guns. Father and son get back inside as Ketchum offers them a deal:
if they give him Curry, he'll allow them to leave without a scratch. Since Henry refuses to accept,
Ketchum takes it a step further and reveals they've captured Al, who is hurt and bleeding.
Furious, Henry grabs his rifle and gives Wyatt the gun, telling him to stay inside, away from
the window, and to only shoot if it's absolutely necessary. Ignoring Curry's pleas to be handed
over, Henry goes to confront Ketchum, who admits he isn't a sheriff and is dying with curiosity to
know who Henry really is. Ketchum offers to trade Al for Curry, but Henry turns him down, and since
neither he nor Al will reveal any secrets, Ketchum kills Al on the spot. This triggers Wyatt into
coming out and start shooting, so Henry drags him back inside as the gang retaliates, hitting
Curry on the leg when he walks near the window. After scolding Wyatt for acting without thinking,
Henry tells him to keep his head down. Hearing these words that match his dream, Curry finally
puts two and two together and realizes Henry's real identity is Billy the Kid - he didn't die
the night of the fire, he just escaped. Henry pays no attention to him, concentrating instead
on retrieving his old gun and holster before going outside to begin shooting after just a few words.
With implacable aim, Henry kills a few gang members before going back to the house through
the window, opening a hole big enough for Curry to shoot a few men as well. The remaining men are
starting to surround the house, so Henry grabs a knife and goes out through the back door.
Silently sneaking around, he stabs two criminals before hiding under the house to shoot a third.
Then, he comes face to face with Stilwell, who tries to use his knife too, but Henry kills him
before he can even take a step. Now only Ketchum is left. He's hidden behind the pigpen and manages
to hurt Henry on the shoulder, so Henry runs into the woods to make Ketchum follow him. Both men
hide behind trees as they exchange shots, but Henry is too good and manages to hit Ketchum on
the leg and shoulder. Henry comes closer then, and Ketchum manages to land one last shot before Henry
finishes him for good. The wounds aren't serious though, so as soon as he returns to the farm,
Henry goes to Curry to help with his own injuries. When Henry tears off Curry's sleeve to take
a better look at his arm, he finds a shocking surprise: Curry has the same gang mark Dugan had,
and he shoots Henry for seeing it. Technically, Curry didn't lie: he confesses he was indeed a
sheriff, but a corrupt one. He and his deputies had worked with Ketchum before, but they heard
Ketchum was planning to kill them during their last job, so Curry tried to escape and that's
how it all started. Henry is agonizing but not quite dead yet, and Curry wants to be the one that
killed Billy the Kid. But before he can shoot, Wyatt arrives and kills him first. He wants to get
a doctor for his father, but Henry explains it's too late, so he wants to tell his son some last
words before he's gone. When Wyatt goes out to the world, he'll hear lots of stories about Billy the
Kid, so Henry wants him to know only half of them are true. He admits not having been a good person,
and he doesn't believe in redemption - all this time, he's just been trying to find some solace in
raising a good kid. Henry doesn't think he has a place in this new world, but he's sure Wyatt does.
After crying over his father's death, Wyatt buries him next to his mother. Once he's emotionally
ready, he packs up his things and leaves the farm on his horse to travel as he's always wanted.