The Ballad of Lefty Brown shows that the western isn’t dead and gives actor Bill Pullman a showcase role in the thriller.

Written and directed by Jared Moshé, Pullman leads a cast that includes Bill Pullman, Kathy Baker, Jim Caviezel, Joe Anderson, Diego Josef, Tommy Flanagan and Peter Fonda.

Edward Johnson (Fonda) gets elected as a senator of Montana and Lefty Brown (Pullman) is by his side when he’s shot to death.  Nobody ever takes Brown–a sidekick for his entire life–seriously, not even Johnson’s wife, Laura (Baker), so he decides to take it upon himself to find the the man (Anderson) who killed his partner.  He picks up Jeremiah Perkins (Josef) in the process and recruits U.S. Marshall Tom Harrah (Flanagan) to get justice for Eddie.

Montana Governor James Bierce (Jim Caviezel) has his own agenda and refuses to help Lefty, who is now accused of killing his longtime partner.  Wrongfully accused, Lefty seeks out to clear his name with the help of the only friends willing to listen to him.

The Ballad of Lefty Brown, which premiered at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival, will screen tonight as a special presentation of the Chicago International Film Festival.  A24 and DirecTV will release the film exclusively on DirecTV starting November 9 before a theatrical roll-out begins on December 15, 2017.