Meek's Cutoff (2011)
Mild themes, violence and infrequent coarse language
| Director: | Kelly Reichardt |
| Actors: | Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson |
The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other’s instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.
| Status: | QuickPick |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 104mins |
| Origin: | UNITED STATES |
| Aspect Ratio: | 4:3 |
| Run Time: | 104mins |
|---|---|
| File Size (Approx): | 0.9 GB |
by Simon Miraudo, 15/07/2011 1:08:00 PM
Some are saying that ‘nothing happens’ in Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff, a slow burn drama about a group of wannabe-settlers wandering the desert in the hopes of finding the promise land. I say, ‘everything happens’. Sure, it’s an exaggeration, but so is the claim that ‘nothing happens’, and I daresay my hyperbole is more accurate. This is a film where life and death decisions are made at every turn; where the very concepts of religion and humanity are dissected in gorgeously subtle yet devastating ways. Reichardt, famously (yet incorrectly) regarded as a lowkey visual director, delivers the most sumptuous looking film of the year so far (courtesy of DOP Chris Blauvelt). Stars Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood – as well as the rest of the small ensemble cast – deliver some of the bes...
Some are saying that ‘nothing happens’ in Kelly Reichardt’s Meek’s Cutoff, a slow burn drama about a group of wannabe-settlers wandering the desert in the hopes of finding the promise land. I say, ‘everything happens’. Sure, it’s an exaggeration, but so is the claim that ‘nothing happens’, and I daresay my hyperbole is more accurate. This is a film where life and death decisions are made at every turn; where the very concepts of religion and humanity are dissected in gorgeously subtle yet devastating ways. Reichardt, famously (yet incorrectly) regarded as a lowkey visual director, delivers the most sumptuous looking film of the year so far (courtesy of DOP Chris Blauvelt). Stars Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood – as well as the rest of the small ensemble cast – deliver some of the best performances; underplayed until they are required to explode. Nothing happens. Pfft. This is life, people; this is the world. That is the most we can ask for in movies, and Meek’s Cutoff delivers.
Williams, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, Neal Huff, Zoe Kazan and Will Patton star as settlers wandering the Oregon Trail in the mid-1800s; looking for a “new Eden”, as promised by their tracker Stephen Meek (Greenwood). Although Meek may have once been a charismatic and convincing force, when we meet the group they are debating whether or not to hang him for leading them to certain death. They’ve no choice but to keep on trusting him and follow him into nothingness. But as their water supply dries up, so does their faith in their once infallible leader, and they make some desperate decisions that could either lead to salvation or unimaginable horror.
This quiet and very slow moving picture resonated deeply with me. Seeing these people forced to confront their mortality and evaluate how long until their time runs out (at the end of each of their fruitless days) was an exhausting exercise, but a rewarding one. Ultimately, it’s a religious parable, in which men and women of faith meet death head on, and do some last minute soul-searching, wondering if their ‘deity’ was lying to them all along about that paradise he promised. As Williams’ settler says of Meek, “I don’t blame him for not knowing; I blame him for saying he did”. Even more heartbreaking is Meek’s comment later in the film: “We’re all just playing our parts. This was written long before.”
4.5/5
Read More
If you like this, try these:
Member Reviews (52)
52 Member
Reviews
mypetz
says
what a load of f**king rat sh***t the writer of that script must have been on animal tranqilisers or something.I can't even bring myself to give it one star.Ionly gave it a star so as to post my review
NIck
says
The reviews seem to nail this one, very polarising, I suggest if you like Terrance Mallick films you should like this one, you know, slow pace, endless tracking shots of people doing nothing etc.
Lorraine
says
This would have to be the worst movie I have ever watched. Slow, terrible sound and so dark you would think you were watching a blank screen, the ending is pathetic and makes you wonder why they would even make such a film. I would take it off the list as movies available. Not worth even rating.
kjn2010
says
If this one is in your queue, delete it. Terrible.
says
Very slow and with near non-existent storyline that rendered it pointless.
Nigel W
says
A wagon train gets lost searching for the land of milk and honey. A quite dull but authentic look at American pioneering families and their trials and tribulations. Worthy rather than enjoyable.
Punkey
says
Meek's Cutoff wasn't worth watching!
Janice
says
Boring and Disappointing, why bother
Baron-Virgo
says
The title of this would have been better as "Meek and Meandering"; this is essentially an aimless movie that goes nowhere. It does a good job of creating the obviously harsh conditions endured by the pioneers on the trail and you can't fault any of the acting but this does not make for interesting viewing. What little dialogue there is is hard to understand and while you may feel what the characters in the film are going through from the environment/their actions, how would you know? It won't be spoiling much to say that this very slow film winds up with no resoution at the end.
If you actually finish watching this film and end up confused & disappointed, try doing a search on Wikipedia for Stephen Meek or the Meek Cutoff (not Meek's Cutoff) - it will give you some interesting facts that will prove more satisfying than the movie.
SallyP
says
I absolutely loved this movie! Yes, it's slow but it is subtle and atmospheric - just because the story isn't spelt out doesn't mean it's a bad movie. The ending is fabulous precisely because it is ambiguous. Not a stereotypical western which is exactly why it's so great. Fantastic soundtrack as well.
ENello
says
Interesting but slow and quite difficult - one of those movies that finish without any real resolution, though I suppose it is fairly obvious what will happen.
Tamaresque
says
I go into every movie expecting an average film; not brilliant, but not a dog either, so basically 3 stars. This quickly sank to a 2-star rating because I had no idea what was going on. The dialogue was so poorly recorded that I couldn't follow the plot. Why were these people with this clearly (to me) attention-seeking nut-job of a guide? He was supposed to get them to where they needed to be within 2 weeks; 5 weeks further on why were they STILL following him? The film was SO slow that other audience members walked out of the cinema and I very nearly followed, but then decided to stay just to see where it went. It descended to a 1 star film when the ending left me just as confused and with no resolution. In fact, the ending was such a surprise that I said "WTF?" aloud and then wished I had walked out an hour beforehand. It is the longest 1h 45m film I have ever sat through.
Eroy
says
Shocking movie, up there with worst movie i have seen
Otto
says
Dull and slow. It takes 5 minutes before the first word is spoken! Very little dialogue at all.
Ms G
says
Note to self: read the informative reviews by other Quickflix members before you add movies to your list. That way you would never have wasted time watching this movie that was as lost as the characters portrayed!
nic
says
longest trailer i have ever watched ,hours of nothing, no stars, no nothing
camsmum
says
terrible. worst movie I've ever seen. Nothing happened in the entire movie.
Weetbix
says
We viewed this film, and were waiting for something to happen.
It did. The movie ended much as it began.
Perhaps we missed the point, but we did not identify with the characters, really, except perhaps the longsuffering indian.
K
says
Worst movie we've ever seen. No story, no ending and boring in between!
HL
says
Boring as the proverbial. Terrible ending.
GaryH
says
Another dud from Margaret Pomerants ten best movies of 2011.
I am going to stop taking Margarets opinions seriously.
This is a movie with no beginning, no end and very little in between.
Art S.
says
A sparse (minimalist) Western where every voice seems overheard rather than spoken for the camera and the actors don't know you're watching. Set in golden scrubgrass or burnished rocky soil, a few settlers traverse America in 1845 led by a grizzly guide who apparently doesn't know where he is. Later they capture a Native American. Things are bleak. That is all. (Kelly Reichardt does a fine leisurely job at directing).
Gil
says
Very slow and boring
Roger
says
Minimalist in dialogue, types of location (lots of night scenes with minimalist lighting) in resolution of story etc all leading to minimal enjoyment. Highly recommended for insomniacs.
CR
says
Wouldn't waste even free postage. Very slow, no ending.
lplogan@bigpond.com
says
the most boring movie in history
Eve
says
Didn't watch it all as we found it rather boring. 2 stars is about the maximum I would give it.
Kerry
says
Worst movie i've seen in a while.I'm sure even the actor's where bored to tears.The most exciting part in the movie was when one of the wagons went out of control down and embankment...even that was in slow motion.. Sorry not worth a star
Garry
says
Worst movie seen this year. Dark, depressing, hopeless, miserable. What a waste of time. How do you give a rating of no stars.
Delly
says
Definately one of the worst movies I have ever viewed. I kept waiting for something to happen, it didn't. The ending was.....well, there was none. I would recommend this as a movie NOT to view
leuflowers
says
I wish I had read the reviews before adding this movie to my list. This movie is definetely for the purists. If you like entertaining movies with engaging stories, Meek's Cutoff is not one. It was hard to keep myself awake as I was watching it but I kept waiting for something to happen, somethings is gonna happen. It didn't happen! What a disappointing end! Very well said Geoff!!! I do not recommend this one.
JW
says
Boring boring boring. Slow as they come, with the director creating too many self indulgent artistic and meaningful shots of people doing humdrum chores for day upon endless day. Very tedious.
sue k
says
I was right there on the wagon Train and it must have been hot because I got so into the drudgery and grind I went of into a deep snooze
LT
says
There is no level low enough to rate this self indulgent slow moving story.
sodie
says
one of the worst westerns i have ever seen.not a good story line and bad finnish
Geoff
says
I love westerns this should have been a documentary rather than a movie. I understand what Simon(above) is saying. THIS MOVIE IS FOR THE PURISTS, very deep, emotional, meaningful but NOT ENTERTAINING. The build up is extremely slow but at the completion still leave the cast wandering and the viewer wondering. NOT RECOMMENDED
Gil
says
Dreadful. This is the slowest movie I have ever seen. It appears to end nowhere.
A complete waste of time.
dmatters888
says
Slow, boring, unintelligent dialogue, long silences and long blackness and to top it off no conclusion at the end. At least they could have told the outcome of this slow torturous journey along the orgeon trail. I think we felt more tortured than the people on the screen.
Mamaluchka
says
I found it as dreary as the landscape. The night scenes frustrating in their repetitive similarity. Many similar types of movies have been made, with a similar theme - much more successfully! The end tops it all! It leaves the spectator high and dry.
Doris
says
Was an ok movie but it didnt go anywhere and there was no ending.The movie like its name just cutoff.
C B Haswell
says
This film probably had some artistic merit but the storyline was hard to follow and the dialogue very infrequent.It seem to have no definitive ending. In a word or two.........a little boring!
Clouseau
says
All the of critics raved about it. Margaret from 'At the Movies' gave it 4 1/2 stars. Why? I only watched it all because the ending was described as controversial. I wouldn't describe it that way, I would say that it was disappointing. Maybe they left it open for a sequel? I hope not! Don't bother, it is not worth the pain!
Chris
says
Possibly the worst movie I've seen in a long time. Tedious, at best. Shallow characters, a nothing story and a woeful ending just about summed it up> Don't waste your time.
B Bargeus
says
Not very entertaining.
GD
says
Thought this might be a good family movie but we were really disappointed, didn't come close to being a good movie. Not enough happened in this movie.
mars
says
such a bad movie 10 mins. was enough for me not worth watching
Chezzie
says
Great visual pictures and landscapes, but that is about it!!
Story line no good. Even my husband who watches all movies to the end used the fast forward button to see if the movie improved to no avail.
fiona
says
agggggggggggggg!
very boring, i ended up doing paper work during the movie! waiting patiently for the end, which left me scratching my head!
Ano
says
Pointless movie. Did not understand what was happening. Would not recommend to anyone. Ending makes no sense.
Lance
says
nah this was rubbish!!! no sub-stance,boring,and i give it 1.5 outta 10
gerd
says
A movie with a glaring omission: a discernible story. The ending is as mysterious as the first 10 minutes or so when not a word is spoken. Most of the really pivotal scenes seem to occur in pitch darkness where it's impossible to see anything and the voices are too mumbled to make out what is being said. Perhaps the story was hidden away in the dark.
Taboar
says
I am a western fan, so i thought I would have a look at this one.
It started very slow, no one said anything for the first 10 minutes of the movie.
But the end well just as you thought things could not get any worse they did, I never tell the end of a movie but seeing this one did not have one don't waste your time.
rename this to Meek's no story no meaning no end BORING BORING BORING