Claim: The Homesman features John Lithgow.

The Homesman is a 2014 French-American historical period drama set in the 1850s Midwest , directed and co-produced by Tommy Lee Jones and co-written with Kieran Fitzgerald and Wesley Oliver , based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout . The film stars Jones and Hilary Swank and also features Meryl Streep , Hailee Steinfeld , John Lithgow , and James Spader .   The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and received a North American limited release on November 14 , 2014 by Roadside Attractions . The Homesman has received mostly positive reviews from critics . Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a rating average of 7.1 / 10 .   The title refers to the task of taking immigrants back home , which was typically a man 's job to carry out .