Meek's Cutoff

"The Road to Civilisation is Not Always Civilised."

2011 1h 43m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 319

WesternHistoryDrama

Synopsis

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A group of settlers traveling through the Oregon High Desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.

“The Road to Civilisation is Not Always Civilised.”

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Cast

Michelle Williams
Emily Tetherow
Bruce Greenwood
Stephen Meek
Will Patton
Soloman Tetherow
Zoe Kazan
Millie Gately
Paul Dano
Thomas Gately
Shirley Henderson
Glory White
Neal Huff
William White
Tommy Nelson
Jimmy White

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writers: Jonathan Raymond
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 15 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kelly Reichardt, shot by Christopher Blauvelt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kelly Reichardt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood and Will Patton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The Road to Civilisation is Not Always Civilised.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1518812 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kelly Reichardt directs. Christopher Blauvelt behind the camera. Kelly Reichardt cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 15 years ago.
2Directed by Kelly Reichardt, shot by Christopher Blauvelt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Editor Kelly Reichardt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
4Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood and Will Patton carry the top of the cast.
5Marketing tagline: "The Road to Civilisation is Not Always Civilised.".
6IMDB entry: tt1518812 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Classified under 43 themes, including "immigrant", "gold", "territory", "tree".

The technical file

Cinematography: Christopher Blauvelt
Editing: Kelly Reichardt
Production design: David Doernberg
Costume design: Vicki Farrell
Makeup / hair: Linda Andrews
Sound: Leslie Shatz
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $876,302
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Meek's Cutoff (2011)

Also by

Kelly Reichardt

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2016-02-26
★ 9.5/10
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 apart at the seams. Those familiar with Kelly Reichardt's work, Old Joy/Wendy & Lucy, will have some idea that Meek's Cutoff was never going to be a traditional Western picture. Often cited as a low-key, minimalist, director, Reichardt has stripped the Western right back to craft a beautifully shot film dealing with the hardships endured both physically and mentally of three families out on the Oregon Trail. Opening without dialogue for the opening seven minutes, where the first voice we hear is that of a child reading Tree of Life, tone is set from the off. We are asked to fill in the blanks ourselves, but it's evident that the group are in trouble, they already look haggard, afraid and near desperation. From here dialogue is as sparse as the terrain they traverse, the wagons crawl at pace, and so to does the film, a slow pace that remains throughout. The interest is all about the characters and their reactions to the situations that arise, no soft soaping or corner cutting, it's stark and uncompromising. This is a different Wild West, the characters are etched into a parched, sun-bleached landscape, there's no romanticism here, just emotional turmoil, it's like the group are in purgatory, desperately trying to reach that Tree of Life on the other side of yet another obstacle. Shot in the 1.33 aspect ratio, this neatly puts the characters front and centre, most tellingly the women, who are the crux of Meek's Cutoff. This viewpoint gives the film a further lift out of the norm, deftly observing the family based woman's place in the West. One of a number of indelible moments in the piece sees the men move away from the women, who have to observe from distance as the men make the crucial decisions, left holding onto the last vestiges of the civilisation left behind, it says so much without actually doing much, something that Meek's Cutoff thrives on. The acting is superb, with Williams, Paton and Greenwood leading the way. This collection of thespians really inhabit their roles, giving the film conviction. Conviction born out by Blauvelt's yellow and brown ochres. Grace's music is also sparse, but telling in a film that mostly deals in quiet conversations, or the natural sounds of wheels turning and tin cups clanking. It's finally detailed and the director wants us to not only examine said details, but also to be part of them. It has already proved to be a most divisive picture, something that is very understandable, even to someone like myself who has been beguiled by it. Where some see a slow crawl where nothing much happens, others see a rich human interest journey where the complete opposite is the case. Regardless of how it eventually works out for the viewer, it remains a film that serious Western fans simply have to see and evaluate. 9/10
badelf2022-05-10
★ 10/10
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 obvious stressors that is beyond fascinating. I was riveted.