Homesman, The

The Homesman is set in 1854 on the harsh Nebraska frontier. Low-life drifter George Briggs (Jones) is rescued by a pious independent-minded woman named Mary Bee Cuddy (Swank). To pay back his debt, George reluctantly agrees to help Mary transport three women driven mad by the harsh frontier life across the treacherous land––where a kindly minister's wife (Streep) has offered them hospice. The unlikely pair soon realize just how daunting the journey will be as the group traverses the vast Nebraska Territories, marked by stark, bleak, psychological peril, and constant danger. The story was adapted from the Western Writers of America and Western Heritage Wrangler novel from Glendon Swarthout. (Gary Reber)