Review of Meek's Cutoff (2011) by Donovan M — 13 Feb 2012
Just astonishingly beautiful. The landscapes and light are worthy of Wenders' Paris, Texas or Malick's Days of Heaven. At times it's like watching a Vermeer come to life. Like all of Reichardt's movies, and like the harshness of the lives and land it portrays, it's minimal, spare, and severe through and through: not much movement of the camera, little and sometimes barely discernible dialogue, only infrequent plot-moving events, and only the slimmest of plotlines.
But while that approach was an utter failure in Old Joy and a very mixed success in Wendy and Lucy, here it's accomplished perfectly. In its quiet way, it's a deeply moving, fascinating, and even suspenseful story, easily belonging with the best westerns ever made.
That it wasn't nominated in cinematography category is more unneeded proof that the Oscars are a fraud.
This review of Meek's Cutoff (2011) was written by Donovan M on 13 Feb 2012.
Meek's Cutoff has generally received positive reviews.
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