The Dead Don't Hurt

'The Dead Don't Hurt' is a 2023 western film written, directed, produced, composed by and starring Viggo Mortensen. The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and HanWay Films is handling worldwide distribution.

Set in the 1860s, it follows the love story between French Canadian Vivienne Le Coudy, played by Vicky Krieps, and Holger Olsen, a Danish immigrant in San Francisco, played by Mortensen. They fall deeply in love when the Civil War suddenly breaks out and their paths will completely separate.

The cast also includes Garret Dillahunt as Alfred Jeffries, Solly McLeod as Weston Jeffries, Danny Huston as Mayor Rudolph Schiller, Nadia Litz as Martha Gilkyson, W. Earl Brown as Alan Kendall, Marc Dennis as a fishmonger Stevens, John Getz as Reverend Simpson and Ray McKinnon as Judge Blagden.

The project is a joint production of Talipot Studio, Recorded Picture and Perceval Pictures, with Regina Solórzano, Jeremy Tomas and Viggo Mortensen as executive producers. Filming began in Canada on October 12, 2022 with locations in Ontario and British Columbia. In addition, some scenes were also filmed in Durango, Mexico.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.