Dir. Kelly Reichardt, USA, 2010, Dur. 102mins
Cast: Michelle Williams, Zoe Kazan, Shirley Henderson, Paul Dano, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton
Review by Carlie Newman
The Western has been a traditionally male genre of film with men as the protagonists and aimed at male cinema-goers. Meek’s Cutoff gives us women as the leading characters and deals with their take on this masculine world, as well as the way that they cope with the difficult environment. A group of seven are crossing the Oregon plains in three wagons on their way to the west in 1845. The film starts in virtual silence with just the sounds of the creaking wagons as we see three families making their slow way along the Oregon Trail to the West. They are led by Stephen Meek (Greenwood), who has got them lost, but assures them that he can find a cutoff or shortcut that will save time.
Thomas Gately (Dano) and his wife Millie (Kazan) are the youngest couple and find the whole experience most bewildering. William White (Neal Huff) and his wife Glory (Henderson) are more mature and very religious. They are accompanied by their young son, Jimmy (Tommy Nelson). The rebel of the group is Emily (Williams) married to Solomon Tetherow (Patton), who is not such a strong character as his wife. When a native American (beautifully played by Rod Rondeaux) is captured, most of the group realise that he could be a better and more successful guide than Meek and they have to make a decision about whether to use him or not. Meek, who holds traditional views, including racist behaviour towards the captive, wants to kill the Indian.
The women work well together as they cook side by side in the near darkness and later support each other by sharing their meagre rations and helping to move heavy wagons which after a time have to be emptied of most of their goods. We observe the women from different angles as we glimpse them under their big bonnets, which have peaks at the front and cloth at the back of their necks. The acting is of a consistently high standard and all manage to convey not only their individual characteristics, but also the period feel and hope and desperation of people trying to find a better life.
Kelly Reichardt’s real strength lies in her ability to create the feel of hard living in a very difficult terrain, which she does through her use of the huge expanse of land that we see and the sounds, which often come to us in waves from the men in the distance or in the quiet conversation of the toiling women. There are some beautifully placed and edited shots. Although the film is set in the sort of terrain that makes it seem a Western, it is far from the usual genre in that what we have here is the story of a journey of hardship told in a lyrical vein. The film ranks as one of the best films this year…so far.
love to know what you think of some of my work and music videos 
