I’m not sure there’s a genre that Nicolas Cage hasn’t dabbled in. The seasoned cult favorite has led mainstream action films, starred in small arthouse dramas, and played in hilarious off-beat comedies. He’s been in war movies, fantasy adventures, martial arts films. He’s done voicework in animated features, portrayed Marvel superheroes, and even took on the iconic role of Count Dracula.

One genre Cage has revisited several times is the American Western. His latest film, “Butcher’s Crossing” sees him once again in the Old West, but this time within a refreshingly unique story. Directed, co-written (with Liam Satre-Meloy), and co-produced by Gabe Polsky, “Butcher’s Crossing” is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by John Williams. Contrary to the more romanticized views at the time, the book was an early deconstruction of the Old West and Polsky’s movie follows right in those footsteps.

The story opens in 1874 with an eager young man named William Andrews (Fred Hechinger) arriving in the small Kansas town of Butcher’s Crossing. Unfulfilled by life at Harvard, Will dropped out of school and travelled west in hopes of finding himself and experiencing what he in his naïveté perceives the American frontier to be. His first glimpse of the cold, unfriendly Butcher’s Crossing gives him pause. But he’s quick to toss aside his first impression, looking forward to what adventure might await.

Will’s first stop is to introduce himself to a crusty trader named McDonald (Paul Raci) who buys and sells buffalo hides at ever-changing market values. Will’s father once helped McDonald back east and Will hopes that connection will help get him into one of McDonald’s buffalo hunting parties. But McDonald denies him a spot, warning him that it’s a pitiless life that can ruin a man.

Not to be discouraged, Will convinces a self-employed buffalo hunter named Miller to take him on. Played by Cage who’s bald with a jet-black beard and a hard-to-decipher twinkle in his eye, Miller tells Will of a hunt deep in the uncharted wilds of the Colorado territory. It has more buffalo with thicker hides which of course means more money. All he needs is $500 to $600 to fund the hunt which Will agrees to supply with little hesitation.

Joined by a superstitious camp cook Charlie (a nearly unrecognizable Xander Berkeley) and a crass and brutish skinner named Fred (Jeremy Bobb), the four-man hunting party make the arduous journey to a sprawling patch of land high up in the Rocky Mountains. It’s there that they set up camp near a massive herd of buffalo and where Miller’s intensifying fixation leads the group down a physically and emotionally treacherous path.

Once it gets its pieces in place “Butcher’s Crossing” shows itself to have a sharp psychological edge. The notoriously savvy Cage makes the beguiling Miller fittingly hard to read. In one sense he’s an alluring larger-than-life presence that you can’t turn away from. But over time we can’t help but join Will in questioning Miller as his epic hunt devolves into a near maniacal obsession.

The movie’s slow-burn pacing proves to be a good fit for the story. The characters, their relationships, their circumstances – it all changes over the course of three grinding seasons in the mountains. The performances are authentic and nuanced, especially from Cage who is surprisingly (and effectively) restrained. And the stunning cinematography not only captures the natural beauty of the setting but also the remoteness of an untouched countryside.

While the film is rich with gorgeous scenery and picturesque horizons, Polsky often contrasts it with a compellingly uncomfortable close-up look at the buffalo trade. It’s a resonating conflict that brings out many of the film’s major themes. It leads to a final act that is harsh, brutal, and increasingly bleak. But it’s befitting for a story such as this – one that may have a few minor hiccups (such as underusing Rachel Keller) but that does a lot with its gritty and edgy premise. “Butcher’s Crossing” opens Friday (October 20th).

VERDICT – 4 STARS