Review of Meek's Cutoff (2011) by Antoine P — 04 Jun 2011

Kelly Reichardt's stunningly shot story of early settlers journeying west in hope and finding themselves lost in inhospitable desert pares every frame down to it's essence. Like the surplus baggage shed along the trail the screenplay carries nothing that isn't essential.

Dialogue is sparse. The soundtrack simply the hypnotic creak and rattle of wagons. The pace as painfully slow as the character's progress. This film quietly overtook me like the impending onscreen dehydration.

Without adding a spoiler, the brilliance lies in the questions that surge like a flash flood when the end credits roll.