Whiskey When We're Dry: The Next Daring Western Adaptation

The Resurgence of the Western Genre

With the Western genre seeing a remarkable resurgence in recent years, there's one recent book in the genre that could be the next Brokeback Mountain if it got a movie adaptation. The Western used to be one of the most popular genres in both movies and television, from the spaghetti Westerns of the earlier era to later Clint Eastwood movies. However, with the rise of the New Hollywood era, the Western diminished in popularity, and only a few projects in the genre were made for decades.

Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as Jack and Ennis in Brokeback Mountain

In recent years, the genre has been resurrected and is now enjoying newfound popularity. With its resurgence has come plenty of new twists on classic tropes, reinventing the Western genre. It's not often audiences see Black faces in Westerns, but Django Unchained and The Harder They Fall put Black cowboys front and center. Brokeback Mountain introduced a queer story to the traditionally ultra-masculine and heterosexual genre. Westworld and Yellowstone have brought the Western back to the small screen. There are yet more new and unique stories to tell in the genre.

Whiskey When We're Dry: A Unique Story

One of those unique stories in the Western tradition begging for an adaptation is Whiskey When We're Dry. The novel, written by John Larison and published in 2018, is one of the more unique stories told in the genre. 17-year-old Jessilyn Harney finds herself orphaned and abandoned on her family homestead. Desperate and slowly starving, Jessilyn chops off her hair, binds her chest, and sets off across the plains to find her outlaw brother, Noah, and hopefully bring him home. All the while, she goes by the less feminine name of Jess.

whiskey when we're dry book cover crop

As the novel unfolds, it becomes clear that while Jess has to pass as a boy to survive the brutalities of the late 19th-century frontier, it's also a decision made to reflect the uncertainties she feels about her own identity. Passing as a boy is a matter of necessity on multiple levels for Jess. Handled thoughtfully, a movie adaptation of Whiskey When We're Dry could surpass even Brokeback Mountain as an exploration of queer identity in the Western genre. There are numerous stories in history of women who chose to live as men until their deaths, and it's not surprising that many of these unfolded in the era of the Old West. Whiskey When We're Dry has the potential to be a thought-provoking movie, not just as a Western or period piece, but simply from a human perspective.

Is Whiskey When We're Dry Getting An Adaptation?

There's no certainty that Whiskey When We're Dry will be adapted, whether as a movie or as a TV show. It's promising that the rights to Whiskey When We're Dry have been acquired, though. Before the book was even released in 2018, wife and husband writer/producer duo Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa acquired the rights for both movie and television. Since then, however, there's been no news regarding an adaptation. While there's still every chance Whiskey When We're Dry will one day become a Western movie, it doesn't appear likely to happen soon.