Meek's Cutoff (2010)

Jack loves westerns and we both liked this story of three pioneer families lost in 1845 Oregon, told from the perspective of the women. Director Kelly Reichardt and her crew researched technology of the era, from muskets to coffee grinders to knitting needles, and shot it in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1, close to 20th century TV of 4:3. When we bought our tickets, the seller warned us that the picture would not fill the screen and said, smiling, "So you don't need to come running out of the theatre telling us something is wrong." I grinned and said, "Is that because I'm the one that always does that?" He replied politely, "Oh, no, ma'am, we're telling everyone." But I am that person, sad to say. In the press packet (I recommend you read it after seeing the movie--go to this page and click Download press packet--it's fascinating) it is suggested that the reduced aspect ratio might be as much as the women could see from inside their bonnets. We liked being able to see the edges of the cinematographer's frame. Another production value is that in the long master shots, i.e. several actors all seen from head to toe during the scene, the dialogue is faint and was somewhat difficult for me to make out. Jack said he liked that, too, because it was from the women's point of view, and they can't quite hear what the men are saying over there.

Michelle Williams (after I wrote about her in Wendy and Lucy (also directed by Reichardt) she was in Shutter Island and then was Oscar-nominated for Blue Valentine) carries the movie wearing her bonnet, lots of dirt, and no apparent makeup. The other women are petite Shirley Henderson (my faves are listed in Life During Wartime) and Zoe Kazan (I covered her in Revolutionary Road and have seen her in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Me and Orson Welles, It's Complicated, Happythankyoumoreplease, and The Exploding Girl, in which she starred), and the menfolk are Will Patton (often plays scary men, e.g. in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), After Hours (1985), The Rapture (1991), Spitfire Grill (1996), Inventing the Abbotts (1996) (all worth seeing), and many more), Paul Dano (I wrote about him, though he had but a cameo, in Taking Woodstock), Bruce Greenwood (after I wrote about him in Dinner for Schmucks I saw him in Mao's Last Dancer and Barney's Version) as Stephen Meek, and three who are new to me: Neal Huff, Tommy Nelson, and Ron Bondreaux. We really got the desperation that these people felt in their journey across the state. Jonathan Raymond wrote this, Wendy and Lucy, and co-wrote the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce (we loved the first two and haven't seen the rest yet). It may be slow for some (I suspect Jon will not like it) but we thought the pacing to be just right.

The soundtrack, by Jeff Grace, is ethereal and scarce, and is available from Amazon as an mp3 download or they will make you a CD on demand. Go to the album page and click Play all samples. One of the producers, Anish Savjani, won the Piaget Producers Award at the Independent Spirit Awards for this movie. There is a real Meek Cutoff in Oregon, a supposed shortcut across the Cascade Mountains. One of our local cinemas is going to have a western series this summer and Jack and I discussed it. It's not my favorite genre but he's a huge fan (if I see any you'll read about it here). He's seen all of the ones they're showing and also has seen most of the TV ones in the past and reruns on the various channels. His favorite is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) but he says the best is Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957). He also really liked the ending of Meek's Cutoff, which, from the sounds we heard in the theatre on Friday, may be controversial.