Meek's Cutoff

If you want a traditional Western, goodies and badies, gunfights, hero gets the girl, or even silent stranger rides in and shoots just about everyone, do not get this film. If you want a thoughtful and thought provoking film that uses the Western setting this is just the ticket. A carefully paced study of character, relationships and motivations, looking at the tensions created by isolation and decisions on the brink of life and death. The cast are uniformly convincing, turning in understated but well observed studies of charcters under pressure. 'Meek's Cutoff' takes the tropes of Western folklore and uses them creatively to take a look at elements of the story of the West that the mainstream avoids. Just as 'Heaven's Gate' went down like a lead baloon with a Western enjoying audience that lacked the desire to be challenged, yet is increasingly regarded as an important addition to the Western genre, so 'Meek's Cutoff' should, if there is any justice, be regarded as a fine, artful film that bravely uses a genre as a setting but refuses to be defined and constrained by it. Watch it, and think.

The plot sounded good but the film was awful. It was difficult to hear what the actors were saying as they were far away from the sound equipment. I always thought that a story should have a beginning, a middle and an end. This film had a very, very slow beginning, a dull middle and absolutely no end, it just finished in mid air. Do not waste your time renting it.

Original and amazing scenery, refreshing in its pared-down cast, action, dialogue, soundtrack... Was I gripped? No. In fact I was quite bored in places.

They say that nothing in life is boring - only the people who make that judgement, and that seems especially true of this film. Indeed - on a purely narrative level - nothing much happens. But in terms of character, a whole lot is going on. Not the least of the film's triumphs is how the viewer, through the mind of Michelle Williams' subtle intricately-portrayed persona, begins to understand (and probably - but there's the rub- to trust) the native scout despite the language barrier. The ending might be seen as frustrating but surely the point is that there is no ending to this archetypal human search for identity? The soundtrack is minimal (hooray!) but - as is the fashion nowadays - much of the dialogue is difficult to hear. The photography is gorgeous: I would happily decorate a room with stills from this film!

One of the most boring pointless films we have ever watched. As others said, you are waiting for something to happen - but it never does!!!!!