Meek’s Cutoff from director Kelly Reichardt (Wendy and Lucy) plays like a chapter from a Cormac McCarthy novel, which is a statement to be taken quite literally. Not a book or a complete story, a chapter and a monumental bore.
Set in 1845 and following a three-wagon train along the Oregon Trail we watch as our band of westerly bound folk run low on water, search for water, don’t find water, encounter an Indian, crash a wagon and find a tree. Don’t worry, that’s not all that happens. Reichardt manages to fit a lot of walking and arguing into this slow crawl. How else would she have managed to fill 104 minutes of screen time if she didn’t?
This group of early American pioneers are led by the gruff Stephen Meek (played by a nearly unrecognizable Bruce Greenwood). A fur trapper, Meek claims to know the route West and has been hired to lead this expedition. As water runs low and the harsh desert cracks beneath them, doubt begins to seep in as to whether Meek knows his way or if he’s leading them to their death.
Beyond Greenwood, the rest of the cast is made up of plenty of familiar faces including Michelle Williams, Will Patton, Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Shirley Henderson and Neal Huff with Williams and Patton serving as the heads of the quiet majority.
The performances are satisfactory, something I attribute to the hiring of quality actors. I’d also assume what looks like rather rough and unforgiving filming conditions contributed to the film’s authenticity. But composed as a character study, this film is actually nothing more than a slow paced, “find your own meaning” slog that amounts to very little. It would satisfactorily serve as documentary b-roll had the movie camera been invented several years earlier as it’s golden hues evoke memories of Malick’s Days of Heaven, but do nothing for the story.
Instead of story or purpose, this is a film sending the audience in search of a metaphor and underlying meaning. If all it had to offer was what’s on screen, it would be to admit its own irrelevance. Yet, the harsh reality of early settlers, the faith we as humans put in those in power and the lack of spirit people exhibit when we begin to question that power isn’t enough to turn Meek’s Cutoff into anything more than a pretty picture of a time long lost.
To recommend Meek’s Cutoff I would first need to find an overwhelming reason and I can’t. It does manage to pass off a certain level of authenticity as rickety wagon wheels roll over the scorched desert earth and the prospect of dying of thirst and the fear of publicly questioning authority is also palpable, but it is so dull I just didn’t care.
I have better things to do with my time than feign interest in a moving canvas just because it’s accomplished, and I have enough respect for you to tell you when to avoid such scenarios. Of course, I understand there’s a flip side to this coin and perhaps introspective minimalist pictures are right up your alley. If so, have at it. I’m just not interested.
