Critics have jumped at the chance to label Meek's Cutoff as a "Revisionist Western" or a "Feminist Western." Some have even snidely referred to it as a big-screen version of the edutainment computer game, The Oregon Trail. I'll jump on the bandwagon and call it an 'Anti-Western' as director Kelly Reichardt has crafted a de-romanticized look at westward expansion and frontier folly. All of this is wrapped in timeless themes of xenophobia and national imperialism.
Based loosely on actual historical events, Meek's Cutoff follows a small group of settlers in 1845. They have broken away from a larger group to follow their guide, Stephen Meek (an unrecognizable Bruce Greenwood), across the Oregon High Desert along a supposed shortcut. What was supposed to be a two week journey has stretched to over a month as the pioneers' supplies dwindle. Among the group are: Emily Tetherow (Michelle Williams) and her older husband Soloman (Will Patton), the ultra-religious William & Glory White (Neal Huff & a squeaky voiced Shirley Henderson) and their son Jimmy (Tommy Nelson), and young couple Thomas & Millie Gately (Paul Dano & Zoe Kazan). Tensions mount as the wandering settlers try to decide whether Meek has intentionally led them astray or is he simply incompetent. The possibility hope arrives when they capture a lone Indian. Meek wants to kill him outright, but Soloman and Emily believe he can lead them to much needed water.
Meek's Cutoff is a challenging film with long stretches of silence and scenes of the characters endlessly walking the bleak terrain. It will try even the most patient viewer so much so that New York Times critics A.O. Scott and Manohla Dargis penned an article entitled, In Defense of Slow and Boring, which also referenced divisive films such as The Tree of Life and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. It may be a hard pill to swallow, but Meek's Cutoff skillfully conveys the hardships and tedium that came from this era of Manifest Destiny. Reichardt stays through every painful step of everyday tasks before the advent of modern technology. Grinding coffee and churning butter are a pain in the ass. One scene features Michelle Williams firing a warning shot with her rifle, and then almost farcically going through every laborious step to reload. It makes you wonder how past generations ever got anything done.
Throughout it all, Reichardt (working from a script by frequent collaborator Jonathan Raymond) manages to subvert every trope expected of the Western genre. The film was shot in the old aspect ratio of 1.37:1, commonly referred to these days as fullscreen. As such, the characters are framed in a claustrophobic manner that accentuates their positions of being trapped by the landscape. The beautiful Monument Valley of John Ford's oeuvre is replaced by dry, acrid land bereft of any beauty. Reichardt also keeps the audience at a distance as the picture opens with a series of long shots as the settlers go through the arduous task of crossing a shallow stream. The first bit of intelligible dialogue doesn't occur until approximate seven minutes into the movie. The story is told from a female's perspective with Emily as the lead character. Reichardt places her audience into their point of view exemplified during a sequence where the men try to decide what to do with Meek. She shoots them from an extreme long shot, but stays with the women (their faces hidden behind deep bonnets) who watch from a distance and speculate on a conversation they are not privy to.
Reichardt uses only natural lighting during the production. Night scenes are lit simply by a crackling campfire, which gives off an eerie highlight of orange across the actors' faces. Michelle Williams stands as one of the top actresses working in Hollywood today and gives another stellar performance.
Meek's Cutoff caps off an unofficial Pacific Northwest trilogy by filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, which also includes Old Joy and Wendy and Lucy. Thematically, all three movies have much in common. Old Joy was about two friends (vestiges of the 60's counterculture attitude) on a camping trip and coming to grips with the disparity in their lives. Wendy and Lucy was a heart wrenching tale of a woman and her dog making their way to Alaska amidst the crushing weight of the economic crisis. All three were about the people who have fallen through the cracks of society. Meek's Cutoff won't be to everyone's taste, but those with strong enough convictions will find a powerful drama and a successful exercise in minimalistic cinema.
Rating: *** (*****)
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