I looked up this film after I saw it mentioned on some internet list of the Top Twenty Five Westerns of the past twenty five years. Along with such heady company as "Unforgiven", Open Range" and "Dances With Wolves", I was expecting at least a compelling story even if it wasn't your traditional shoot 'em up sagebrush saga.
Very disappointed. This is a film that ends abruptly and leaves the story's conclusion up to the imagination of the viewer. Fair enough, but given what we've watched for almost two hours, even one's own evaluation comes across as ambiguous because everything we've come to know about the travelers is steeped in ambiguity. Until Emily Tetherow (Michelle Williams) takes her stand against the title character Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood), essentially effecting the 'cutoff' of the story, the rest of the group are basically spineless followers unwilling to make a decision one way or the other regarding their guide's expertise. The men in particular offer no alternatives preferable to simply staying the course, while Meek himself attempts to regale them with past exploits and victories. I'll give the kid Jimmy (Tommy Nelson) a pass because after all, he was just a kid, but at least he showed some initiative by wandering off every now and then to get the lay of the land.
Now there's a way to look at this picture that makes it brilliant if you want to take it there. I'm not familiar with Kelly Reichardt's other film work and don't know her politics, but if you want to see the film as an indictment of a political system that's directionless (demonize the party of your choice, it works both ways) in a world fraught with danger, then the movie is spot on. While the citizen/viewer grows increasingly afraid for the direction of the country while it disengages from the world and terrorist tyrants fill the vacuum, it's going to take an Emily Tetherow to make a stand, one way or the other. One path leads to death, the harder path means fighting one's way back to triumph and survival. The easy way gets us where we are now.
Very disappointed. This is a film that ends abruptly and leaves the story's conclusion up to the imagination of the viewer. Fair enough, but given what we've watched for almost two hours, even one's own evaluation comes across as ambiguous because everything we've come to know about the travelers is steeped in ambiguity. Until Emily Tetherow (Michelle Williams) takes her stand against the title character Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood), essentially effecting the 'cutoff' of the story, the rest of the group are basically spineless followers unwilling to make a decision one way or the other regarding their guide's expertise. The men in particular offer no alternatives preferable to simply staying the course, while Meek himself attempts to regale them with past exploits and victories. I'll give the kid Jimmy (Tommy Nelson) a pass because after all, he was just a kid, but at least he showed some initiative by wandering off every now and then to get the lay of the land.
Now there's a way to look at this picture that makes it brilliant if you want to take it there. I'm not familiar with Kelly Reichardt's other film work and don't know her politics, but if you want to see the film as an indictment of a political system that's directionless (demonize the party of your choice, it works both ways) in a world fraught with danger, then the movie is spot on. While the citizen/viewer grows increasingly afraid for the direction of the country while it disengages from the world and terrorist tyrants fill the vacuum, it's going to take an Emily Tetherow to make a stand, one way or the other. One path leads to death, the harder path means fighting one's way back to triumph and survival. The easy way gets us where we are now.