Viggo Mortensen Directs and Stars in First Trailer for Ruthless Western The Dead Don't Hurt (Exclusive)

Viggo Mortensen is putting his spin on the American Western with his new movie.

The Dead Don’t Hurt features the star as actor, writer and director. PEOPLE has the exclusive first look at the trailer, which offers glimpses of this 1860s-set tale of star-crossed lovers, corrupt lawmen, violent outlaws and revenge. 

Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) leads the cast, which also includes Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Colin Morgan, Ray McKinnon, W. Earl Brown, Atlas Green and Danny Huston.

Mortensen, 65, calls The Dead Don’t Hurt a "dramatic and emotionally engaging story about a uniquely independent woman on the western frontier, and her relationship to the headstrong man she chooses to share her life with.”

The director tells PEOPLE, “My hope is that audiences will feel they are stepping back in time to the wild landscapes and lawless society of the Far West in the 1860s, and that they’ll be entertained by a movie in the tradition of the best classic Westerns.”

Krieps plays Vivienne Le Coudy, a woman who joins Mortensen’s Holger Olsen, a Danish immigrant living in a remote town in Nevada. After he leaves to fight for the Union in the American Civil War, Vivienne must fend off violent neighbors — “an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men,” per a synopsis. 

“Both a tragic love story and a nuanced depiction of the conflict between revenge and forgiveness, The Dead Don’t Hurt is a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself,” the synopsis adds. 

“I’ve never sensed a false moment, an untruthful or superficial line reading or gesture in any role I’ve seen her play,” Mortensen says of costar Krieps, 40. “Her performance turned out to be even more layered and moving than I'd hoped it might be.”

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Following his 2020 directorial debut Falling, Mortensen says he began writing The Dead Don’t Hurt amid lockdown during the height of the pandemic. “The first image that came to me was of a young girl playing alone in a forest and dreaming about the adventures she might have in her life,” he says. 

“That girl was inspired by what I know of my mother’s childhood experiences and dreams, and the landscapes she grew up in,” says Mortensen, whose mother died in 2015. “As I continued to construct the story it became one about a proud, free-thinking woman.”

He adds that classic Westerns featured heavily in his childhood. “Knowing how to ride and be around horses from an early age helped me in accurately representing everyday life on the western frontier,” says Mortensen. 

“There are always surprises during shooting, however, no matter how well you prepare as a team,” he continues, calling the movie “a long and arduous journey from start to finish.”

“Every day is a challenge and a unique opportunity for adventure. The best thing a director can do is to take into account the ideas and professional contributions of all members of the cast and crew to overcome obstacles along the way. I learned a great deal from all of them, and we are proud of the movie we made.”

The Dead Don’t Hurt had its premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. From distributor Shout! Studios, the film is in theaters May 31.