Meek's Cutoff

The Meek Cutoff was a covered wagon road that branched off the Oregon Trail in northeastern Oregon. First used in 1845, the road is named for frontiersman Stephen Meek, who was hired to lead the first wagon train along it. The journey was a particularly hard one, and many of the pioneers lost their lives. Friday night I sat through Meek's Cutoff - billed as a "feminist" Western and at times felt I was enduring the same "lostness" of the pioneers depicted on screen. I had been forewarned that the film was minimalist in its approach, slow-paced and it would not be an action-based western. I was not prepared for the snail's pace of plot, nor for the ambiguous "ending". 

The film is based on actual events and Stephen Meek took 1000 people through Oregon in over 200 covered wagons in the mid 1800s. Sadly, the film shows Meek taking a small group of about ten across the wilderness and although we can identify with the characters - Sarah Henderson and Michelle Williams do an excellent job - the film really lacks in a whole number of areas.... particularly budget and plot. So if you don't mind a verrrry slow pace and plot isn't a mainstay in your determining your choices in viewing, then Meek's Cutoff could be your sort of movie. Next time, I'll be checking a few more reviews on the web.

Burn brightly, Pete.