Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
While the western genre was in an interesting development in the 1950s, moving in a direction with more moral grey areas and taking influences from noir, this movie still feels more modern that it should being from 1955. It shares resemblance with especially the Ranown-cycle, but it has a very modern neo-western mood. I was definitely thinking No Country For Old Men.
From the very first minutes, an atmosphere of underlying tension is established with a very stripped down premise. It is impressive how just depicting a stranger going around in a small town asking minor questions can evoke so much suspense. It is a testament to quality of minimalist filmmaking, getting much out of very little. As the movie progresses though it loses a bit of that as it unravels to something more normal, but I still very much enjoyed how the story unfolded with revealing things gradually. It is also not just mood, style and atmosphere, but also says something about how America dealt with the aftermaths of the war.
Rating: 3.5