Logan is the final chapter in Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the Wolverine. In James Mangold’s original studio pitch for this X-Men film, he said he wanted to make a Western that was also like a violent Little Miss Sunshine. To that effect, Logan sees its titular character undertake a literal journey with his old mentor (Sir Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier) and a new mentee named Laura (newcomer Dafne Keen), an 11-year-old girl who is more similar to Logan than he first suspects.
This is not the same confident, heroic version of Wolverine we have seen in films past — the closest we get is the existential exploration of the character in 2013’s The Wolverine (also directed by Mangold). This time around, Logan depicts Wolverine as a broken, lonely man. Like many Westerns, the tone is bleak. The arid, barren landscape in the film’s first act presents a backdrop reflective of Logan’s own struggles with depression, self-loathing, and regret.
These struggles are nothing new to the character, but they carry more weight in this film. Logan is now much older and faced with the imminent possibility of his own mortality. Almost all of his fellow mutants are dead and gone. He lives in solitude, retreating even deeper into depression and only interacting with people out of necessity. The introduction of the young girl Laura into Logan’s world jars him out of this dark place and eventually fills him with more purpose than he has felt in a long time. Laura needs Logan’s help, but Logan also needs her more than he first realizes.
The first official trailer for Logan serves as the perfect primer to understanding director James Mangold’s approach. The way Mangold uses Johnny Cash’s redention of “Hurt” speaks volumes about how he handles the troubled main character. “Hurt” is Cash’s cover of a Nine Inch Nails song from the last album Cash released before his death. Cash’s acclaimed version of this song is a haunting epitaph of a man at the end of his life looking back over all of his deeds — both good and bad. If you haven’t seen the music video, stop reading this right now and go watch it. It is the most impactful piece of filmmaking I have ever seen, and I have yet to experience a viewing that doesn’t give me chills. The verse from “Hurt” used in the first Logan trailer is a sad commentary on Logan’s mental state, “I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real.” This level of emotional complexity is evidence of Mangold’s departure from standard conventions of the superhero genre. That departure results in a much more mature film.
Mangold’s use of Johnny Cash’s music provides an appropriate lens through which to view Logan’s story. Mangold also directed the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, but his use of the Man in Black’s music in Logan is more than just lip service. In interviews about the film, Mangold has stated his thoughts on the similarities between Cash and Logan. He uses the Man in Black’s music to reinforce this comparison, even playing Cash’s book-of-Revelation-inspired “The Man Comes Around” over the end credits.
In his later years, Johnny Cash was faced with regret over how far he had strayed from his Christian upbringing before ultimately returning to it. Logan has also been dealing with the shame he feels for all of the killing and violence that has been an inextricable part of his life. The lyrics from “Hurt” speak to those regrets: “What have I become?…If I could start again…I would keep myself, I would find a way.” Violence and killing are things Logan has long wished he could wash himself of permanently. He doesn’t want to feed the cycle of violence any more than necessary, yet somehow violence always seems to find its way back into Logan’s life.
Logan’s struggle is closely mirrored in George Stevens’ 1953 Western classic Shane. Like Logan, the titular hero Shane has a violent past, but he longs to put away his weapons and pursue a life of peace instead. However, Shane eventually picks up his guns to save those he cares about, taking on the mantle of violence so that they won’t have to.
Towards the beginning of their journey we see Logan, Charles, and Laura actually watching a scene from Shane on the TV in their hotel room. This scene depicts Shane explaining his violent actions to his young mentee Joey: “A man has to be what he is, Joey. You can’t break the mold. I tried it and it didn’t work for me….Joey, there’s no living with a killing….Right or wrong, it’s a brand, a brand that sticks. There’s no going back.”
After watching this scene on the television, Logan begins to gradually view his relationship with Laura in a different light. His motivations begin to mirror Shane’s. He doesn’t want Laura to live like he has been living, with the brand of being a violent killer. Just like Shane, Logan even experiences a glimpse of a loving family’s normal, peaceful life. It affects his decisions from that point forward. He eventually continues his journey to protect Laura with a renewed sense of purpose, now driven by the hope of saving her from repeating his life of violence. This possibility of redemptive hope underscores the entire film.
“If I could start again, a million miles away, I would keep myself; I would find a way.”
You might also find these reviews of Logan helpful:
Christianity Today
Larsen on Film
Reel Dialogue
Reel World Theology
