Meek's Cutoff

MEEK'S CUTOFF is a daring film. It is about a small group of travelers traversing the Oregon trail. They meet a man named Meek (Bruce Greenwood) who knows a sort of shortcut, and takes them on it. It turns out, however, that Meek has no idea what he's talking about, although he talks a lot, and the group finds themselves lost. However, the events that I have just described are not explained in the film, and they have already happened by the time the film starts. For quite a while nobody talks in the film, and nobody makes it clear that they are lost. Most of what I explained above I inferred from what the film presented me with. Not only is such a film demanding of its audience, but it is endearingly trusting of an audience. The film by Kelly Reichardt is very well directed. It would have to be, for there is not much of a story to it, and I can easily see many being bored by it. I was not; instead I discovered a buried tension, and stirring hopelessness that slowly emerged from the landscape. As the group becomes lost, the actors involved convey the realism that Reichardt is attempting to evoke wonderfully. Reichardt has created, with MEEK'S CUTOFF a film that is extremely authentic to what being on the Oregon trail in the 1840's must have been like, and the actors, with their dirty faces often shrouded in shadow, slowly go mad at their predicament. The final scene of MEEK'S CUTOFF is so powerful that it elevates the film from where it was already going. It makes us realize something anew. This film is one that I'm sure will alienate many. It is slowgoing and the ending will dissatisfy many who were willing to go along with it. But if you can stick with it, you'll discover a wonderful gem.
Meek's Cutoff: ★★★1/2