My first suggestion is to not see
this movie when you're tired. My second suggestion is to skip the film all
together if anything about the Oregon Trail or the 1840s bores you. Otherwise,
my experience with Meek's
Cutoff was pleasant.
Set in Oregon in 1845, three
families trying to get somewhere, and the location isn't particularly
important. What we know from the beginning is that a man named Meek is supposed
to be leading them to this location and so far, he has only gotten them lost.
Each family is pulling a wagon and water soon becomes sparse. Eventually they
encounter an Indian, and they must decide whether he's a resource or not.
Overall, Meek's Cutoff is very limited. The location
scenes remain the same pretty much throughout the entire movie. What changes is
the difference between day and night. There's also little dialogue, and almost
no action. Still, for me, what it lacked didn't matter because that's how I'd
expect the journey to play out.
The director took a lot of risks
in this film. She allowed conversation to be quieter than normal, and she showed
audiences sweeping landscapes that stayed on screen for long minutes.
Furthermore, the actors, as well known as they are, were never central to the
film. For some characters, I didn't realize until later who exactly the actor was
that was portraying them.
Looking at Meek's Cutoff from a different perspective, I can see why a lot of people might
dislike this film. It's certainly not typical, nor does it have any of the
spice that other westerns have.
On the other hand, if you'd like
to see something different and really engage yourself in the film without the
help of the director, Meek's
Cutoff works.
