2010: Meek's Cutoff (80th!)

What else happened this year? 2010. let’s see… I was living in Newcastle, world events… I can’t think of any. There was an election in the UK, which sucked, oh and there was a swine flu. Which was the last flu thing any of us ever heard about.

What is the plot - in one sentence? In another Western, this time a post-Western, we follow a group of wagon trailers who are heading west.

I don't have time, just spoil it for me? The get lost and struggle with thirst and a general lack of water. They encounter a Native American guy, they lose one of their carriages, and they find a tree with green leaves, suggesting that the water they are looking for is nearby, but we’re left to an uncertain fate for the entire party.

What is the meaning of the title? The guide they have is named Meek, and as this is based on a true story, the area they are in is now named Meek’s Cutoff, as it seems that we meet them at the point that they become cutoff (unless it means cutoff in a geological sense). I don’t think the real Meek would have glued his beard on every morning as the actor here evidently did, though.

The beard budget for this movie must have been huge. This is our man Meek.

Anything that's not aged well? Does a woman get slapped around? No, this is a woman directed movie, Michelle Williams is the moral heart of the movie, and she even defends the Native American guy against Meek, who is desperate to kill him. Despite that, and the hint that Michelle Williams’ character is the intelligent and moral centre of the group, she’s left from most important conversations, instead she’s treated to overheard snippets of earnest discussion from the menfolk. For the record it’s three husband and wife teams, a child, and Meek.

Any thoughts? There’s a real sense of thirst and how unplesant a trip like this would have been. There’s a pious and shrill woman annoying everyone, everyone sheds sentimental trinkets to save energy from carrying them, and there’s endless walking and struggle. Looks like it wasn’t fun.

When thirst is hitting hard, they are happy to come across a big lake,… but we’re told it’s alkaline water that they can’t drink. I am not sure that this happens, but I’m also far too lazy to look it up.

I also want to make a shout out to Paul Dano, who is in this as one of the husbands, and he’s made a very healthy career out of looking unhealthy and being the biggest weiner in any movie he’s in. He’s good in this.

Would you recommend this? It’s well-shot, ponderous but not slow, and tense but nothing happens. It was interesting, though the ending was a ‘is that it?’ style disappointment.

Final thoughts? The men each go in a different direction to look for water. The women stay behind and the native American guy happens upon them. To signal the men, she fires a gun twice, which involves muskets, tamping, a little gunpowder, and then firing. It’s a process. It takes about a minute of the movie, and it’s pretty impressive, though in real life she’d be a scalp, in that amount of time, you’d imagine.

One of the first shots we see if the groups moving things over a river. On of the things is a colourful bird in a cage. It’s the most certain money in the world that that cage is going to be empty by the end of the movie. Spoilers: it was.

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