Meek's Cutoff

I blame him for saying he did.

Meek's Cutoff is directed by Kelly Reichardt and written by Jonathan Raymond. It stars Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Paton, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Zoe Kazan and Tommy Nelson. Music is by Jeff Grace and cinematography by Chris Blauvelt. Story is based on an historical incident on the Oregon Trail in 1845, when frontier guide Stephen Meek (Greenwood) led a small band of settlers across the trail in search of richer pastures. For what was meant to be a two week journey, has now turned into five, and the settlers have this horrible feeling that Meek is lost. With no end to the journey in sight, low on food and water, and becoming ravaged by the terrain, the group starts to come apar...

I can see why the average American thinks this movie is doo-doo; it's not a film that satisfies the American cultural ADD. If you were looking for an action Western with at least a few gun fights, this is not your film. Even if you're a Cosmo reader who expected some safe, Hollywood pablum like Power of the Dog, forget this film.

This is not a Western at all. This masterpiece is an intense, psychological drama that plays out on a very deep, non-verbal level. Nothing is explained. It is meant to be watched and understood in some remote part of the brain.

The tortoise-like pacing and wide, empty cinematography gives one a sense of the isolation and lack of hope as the characters in the film. It is the reaction of the characters to the o...