Tommy Lee Jones has had a long and successful career as an actor, but on occasion he likes to take a seat in the director's chair as well. Although, given that he's played leading roles in his three feature films so far, he probably doesn't get to do a lot of sitting down.

In the new international trailer for The Homesman, Jones' upcoming Western, he starts out sitting down in quite a precarious situation. His character, George Briggs, is a claim jumper who has been left to hang as soon as his horse gets bored or skittish, and who is discovered by pioneer woman Mary Bee Cuddy (Hilary Swank). Mary offers to set him free, on the condition that he performs a certain service for her in return.

It's just as well that she wrangles a promise from him in advance, because the task itself just might prove deadly. Mary asks for George's aid in escorting three women, who have all gone insane, on a perilous journey from Nebraska to Iowa. The Homesman has an impressive cast that also includes Meryl Streep, Miranda Otto, Tim Blake Nelson, James Spader and Breaking Bad star Jesse Plemons.

The Homesman is based on the 1988 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout, whose novels have been adapted for the big screen several times, including John Wayne's final film The Shootist. The Homesman seems to have been a pet project for Jones, who wrote the script and produced it the film as directing and playing the lead role.

Although The Homesman will only get a limited release in US theaters this fall, it is expected to premiere at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival next month, and thanks to distribution funds being provided by EuropaCorp it will also be out on general release in France from 21 May.

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The Homesman is set for release on October 3, 2014.