Meek's Cutoff (2010)

Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.

Director:

Kelly Reichardt

Writer:

Jonathan Raymond (screenplay)

Stars:

Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Michelle Williams	...	Emily Tetherow
Bruce Greenwood	...	Stephen Meek
Will Patton	...	Soloman Tetherow
Zoe Kazan	...	Millie Gately
Paul Dano	...	Thomas Gately
Shirley Henderson	...	Glory White
Neal Huff	...	William White
Tommy Nelson	...	Jimmy White
Rod Rondeaux	...	The Indian

Storyline

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other's instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

oregon | desert | trust | water | oregon trail | 

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild violent content, brief language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2011 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Meek's Oregon 1845 Cutoff

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$20,042 (USA) (8 April 2011)

Gross:

$977,600 (USA) (19 August 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evenstar Films, Film Science, Harmony Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Meek and Solomon ride off in pursuit of the Indian, Meek's hat blows off and he continues on without stopping. When the two men return some time later, with the bound Indian in tow, Meek is wearing his hat.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Awards Special 2012 (2012)

User Reviews

Protracted and static (non-)road movie

19th century America where families relocate in order to find better life and happiness; huge areas (mostly wastelands) are uninhabited or thinly populated by natives. That is the background of Meek's Cutoff and we see several horse-carts slowly moving towards the unknown - without aware of right direction. The journey takes weeks, but nothing really happens, just ponderings about future and fear for native Indians. There are long scenes without any text, just showing landscapes. The cast is OK, but males are seldom shown in a close distance; Bruce Greenwood has so thick beard that he is unrecognizable. I decided to watch the movie due to Paul Dano only, but he spent limited time on screen and his character was rather dull. Female characters are look-a-likes, Emily Tetherow (performed by Michelle Williams) is stronger than others, but all in all - not impressive. I could hardly wait for the ending - and even this was nothing special.

If you like Waiting-for-Godot' types of movies, then you would probably like it. Personally, as for westerns, I prefer e.g. True Grit or 3.10 To Yuma.