Meek's Cutoff (2011)

Sadly Over-hyped

Overrated and overhyped

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Kelly Reichardt's fifth feature follows a party of three covered-wagon abiding families traversing the Oregon Trail led by their guide the questionably unscrupulous Stephen Meek. Very reminiscent of Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven, the film showcases the hardships of routine daily life and the enrapturing landscape around them. Unlike Malick's ever-moving camera Reichardt takes an extremely static approach nearly to a fault. But we are always in the middle of real day-to-day life as an unobserved observer. We become a fly on the wall, unseen, viewing the activities of a group of humans not knowing that they are being watched. We cock our heads and lend our ears to catch a conversation between mumbling or whispering characters straight out of an Altman film. We peer into the fading light of day into the coming darkness to catch a glimpse of a meal by firelight. As naturalistic as this was some details lacked realism. Our pioneers crossed a rugged land in starched pressed, artificially weathered clothing and supplies that made them look more like modern reenactment props rather than lived-in tools of survival. Sometimes the devil is in the details, like loading a long rifle with shot when just firing it for its intimidating blast. The dialogue was sparse yet sufficient, but not always delivered convincingly which was surprising given the reputation and experience of this cast. There is little overall action in the plot but that is not necessarily always a negative (as proven by Seinfeld: the show about nothing). This can however be a significant issue though when combined with little to no character development. Meek was easily the most formed character (with Mrs. Tetherow a close second) but almost came off as a caricature. Other small traits seemed contradictory to the character's personalities as survivalists; slight aversions to physical labor, wimpish fearfulness, a general lack of pragmatism, and a bit of naive arrogance. Most of these issues could easily be blamed on the screenwriter and maybe even his own naivety in his modern perspective. But the visual medium of cinema and the performances by actors can makeup for a lack in a screenplay. The majority of the film could be described as a slow burn but in the end its really a buildup to nothing. Ambiguity without purpose simply seems like lazy storytelling. Overall Meek's Cutoff is an uncommon subject curiosity and flawed but descent effort in low budget indie film-making even if it wasn't enough to fix faults in the writing.

The movie goes from nowhere to nowhere. Everything is very dragged and no character has a clearly identified profile or psychology. When the movie ends you think "Hey, that's it?!?". Although some people think it's a work of art, I think it boring. There is much monotony and nothing, absolutely nothing, excites. The vote of praise stands for a part of the photograph, with very beautiful images in some takes, but that's all.

US indie female filmmaker Kelly Reichardt's antebellum western allegory MEEK'S CUTOFF is an odd addition to the hallowed genre, with an entire ensemble cast of 9, traversing through the Oregon High Desert with their wagons. There are three families of settlers, Emily (Williams) and Solomon Tetherow (Patton), Thomas and Mille Gately (Dano and Kazan), William and Glory White (Huff and Henderson) with their teenage son Jimmy (Nelson) plus the titular Stephen Meek (Greenwood), their guide. But Meek's cutoff doesn't pan out as he has promised, their journey is prolonged with no clear improvement in sight, morale begins to pall and water is in shortage, when they capture a solitary Indian (Rondeaux) and foist him to lead them to water, rift will soon divide themselves, but to what end? Reichardt confects something very anti-climatic along the line. Adhering to the tenet of preserving and reflecting naturalistic pulchritude of its expansive surroundings, the film certainly takes its time to observe human actions under this primordial circumstances and often the camera stays put and lets the narrative take its own course within the frame; similarly during the night scenery, only candlelight and campfire is used against a pitch- black night or the interior of a tent. This minimalist approach makes for an intimate study of those settlers, especially of the women front, upgrades them from an often underrepresented and/or stereotyped fix to the spotlight, it is mostly through Emily Tetherow, the story manages to bring forth its central conflict of trust, (mis)understanding, fortitude and belief. Who can they trust, is it Meek, an supposedly experienced guide who gradually loses other's trust due to his inexplicable incapability? Or the Indian, who could be dangerously duplicitous, and their communication is gravely undermined by their language barrier. Emily makes her choice (with tact too), and the film broaches an abrupt open ending without confirmation of either because there mustn't be any consolation prize, no fight-or-flight finale, let the uncertainty rule, just for once.Reichardt doesn't give much dramatic outpourings to her cracking cast but Michelle Williams still holds court and gives a contained but gritty performance head and shoulders above her male co- stars, Bruce Greenwood is remotely next-in-line radiant with his curmudgeonly ambiguity, but ruefully, there is little is on offer. Regardless of its invigorating feminist angle of a less fluid story, Reichardt's film seems to brandish her "anti" flag too willfully and what is ultimately sacrificed here is a culminating catharsis dissipates even before its tentative luring of actualization.

A total waste of 2 hours. Scenery was awesome, characters were pretty cool, but the photography/directing was horrible. The story had a chance, the location and characters gave it their best, and with a little direction and normal use of photography it could have been a good movie. Mad at myself for watching it all.