Top 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsMost Popular Video GamesMost Popular Music VideosMost Popular Podcasts
    Release CalendarBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersSundance Film FestivalIndependent Spirit AwardsBlack History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Meek's Cutoff

  • 20102010
  • PGPG
  • 1h 44m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
14K
YOUR RATING
Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
A drama centered on three pioneer families on the Oregon Trail, circa 1845.
Play trailer2:27
1 Video
99 Photos
AdventureDramaThriller
Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
14K
YOUR RATING
    • Kelly Reichardt
    • Jonathan Raymond(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Michelle Williams
    • Bruce Greenwood
    • Paul Dano
    • Kelly Reichardt
    • Jonathan Raymond(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Michelle Williams
    • Bruce Greenwood
    • Paul Dano
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 167User reviews
    • 204Critic reviews
    • 85Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Meek's Cutoff
    Trailer 2:27
    Watch Meek's Cutoff

    Photos99

    Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Paul Dano and Neal Huff in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Shirley Henderson, Michelle Williams, and Zoe Kazan in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Shirley Henderson in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Bruce Greenwood in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Bruce Greenwood, Rod Rondeaux, and Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Rod Rondeaux in Meek's Cutoff (2010)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michelle Williams
    Michelle Williams
    • Emily Tetherow
    Bruce Greenwood
    Bruce Greenwood
    • Stephen Meek
    Paul Dano
    Paul Dano
    • Thomas Gately
    Will Patton
    Will Patton
    • Soloman Tetherow
    Zoe Kazan
    Zoe Kazan
    • Millie Gately
    Shirley Henderson
    Shirley Henderson
    • Glory White
    Neal Huff
    Neal Huff
    • William White
    Tommy Nelson
    Tommy Nelson
    • Jimmy White
    Rod Rondeaux
    Rod Rondeaux
    • The Indian
      • Kelly Reichardt
      • Jonathan Raymond(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Wendy and Lucy
    7.1
    Wendy and Lucy
    Old Joy
    6.8
    Old Joy
    Certain Women
    6.4
    Certain Women
    River of Grass
    6.5
    River of Grass
    Night Moves
    6.0
    Night Moves
    First Cow
    7.1
    First Cow
    Ode
    6.6
    Ode
    Showing Up
    6.9
    Showing Up
    5.4
    Owl
    For Ellen
    6.0
    For Ellen
    La vie de Jésus
    7.0
    La vie de Jésus
    Flatscreen
    5.9
    Flatscreen

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Loosely based on a true incident involving trail guide Stephen Meek and a band of settlers in 1845.
    • Goofs
      In an early scene with the three women walking, there was abundant Russian thistle on the ground. The film was set in 1845, but Russian thistle (Salsola tragus) wasn't introduced to the United States until arriving in South Dakota in 1870 or 1874, as weed seed in flaxseed imported from Russia.
    • Quotes

      [last lines]

      Stephen Meek: I'm taking my orders from you now, Mr. Tetherow. Miss Tetherow. And we're all taking our orders from him, I'd say.

      [about the Indian walking ahead]

      Stephen Meek: We're all just playing our parts now. This was written long before we got here. I'm at your command.

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2010 (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Nearer, My God, To Thee
      (uncredited)

      Written by Sarah F. Adams and Lowell Mason

      Performed by Neal Huff

    User reviews167

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Meek's Cutoff
    It is telling that Reichardt chose to shoot this film in Academy ratio. Right away we know this will not be a romantic image of the Old West, with breathtaking, expansive vistas (although the cinematography is lovely in its own way). Instead, we are constricted, claustrophobic, uncertain of what lies just beyond our limited field of vision. It is a film of quiet desperation, hard-scrabble survival in painstaking detail, and growing mistrust. In some ways it evokes the horror genre, perhaps something like a subdued BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, as the severity of the situation deepens and doubt takes hold. The film manages a sense of gritty realism without resorting to overstating the harsh conditions for dramatic effect. The travelers aren't stumbling around filthy and bloody, they maintain a semblance of civility even as the promise of civilization seems more and more doubtful. The ending will no doubt frustrate many, but didn't bother me one bit.

    As for the cast, Michelle Williams impresses me again with her thoughtful restraint, and I'm always pleased to see Shirley Henderson. Greenwood does well with a part that could easily have called too much attention to itself, and for once I didn't hate Paul Dano. The score is wonderful, as haunting and sparse as the landscape. I adored WENDY AND LUCY, and quite liked OLD JOY (in fact, that film seems better in hindsight than I gave it credit for). Reichardt is emerging as one of American cinema's most distinctive and worthwhile voices. I look forward to her next endeavor.
    helpful•30
    15
    • MartinTeller
    • Dec 30, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 15, 2011 (United Kingdom)
      • United States
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Burns, Oregon, USA
    • Production companies
      • Evenstar Films
      • Film Science
      • Harmony Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 44 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Michelle Williams in Meek's Cutoff (2010)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Meek's Cutoff (2010) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.