wheatley-20230 This film takes a typical western premise - a journey through a landscape of characters and escapades - but gives it a twist that adds weight and depth.

Tehmeh I like my movies simple. I like melodrama, high emotional stakes, simple revenge-fueled story lines and effective characters I can care about. But sometimes there is room for different kinds of approach, even for simple bastards like me. "Slow West" is a different one, and although it wasn't tight enough to drive home the numerous points it (probably) tried to make, I was invested in an almost passive way."Slow West" is a bit of a mess for me. In its core there is a story of desperate, naive love. It's quite innocent and it's something we've all been through. It's about a fantasy, not about pragmatic reality, and fantasies rarely have happy endings. On the other hand, this story is surrounded by bits and pieces of commentary, some about the violent invasion of the New World, some about the darkness of man's soul and other philosophical matters.Now these things aren't bad in themselves, but they seem to be scattered around without any tight emotional connection to anything else that's happening. They are mainly introduced by our protagonists running into strangers who have stories to tell, and sometimes emphasized by voice-over narration. It feels forced and this movie suffers from it. If there is an emotional payoff, the movie just wants to quickly get it over with, or convey it in a manner that doesn't really do much. In other words, this film throws things at you, at it's sometimes clumsy about it.However, there is something honest about this film. In all its weirdness and scattered narrative, it still manages enough. Director/writer John MacLean just probably didn't have the means or experience to fully deliver what he intended. It doesn't feel pretentious, it just feels a little off and perhaps a bit rushed. It still feels somewhat innocent, much like Kodi Smit-McPhee's character. I might be wrong, but at the moment I think this movie has a good heart somewhere under the clutter.Actors are fine, and nobody overacts. Perhaps most of them underact, but that's likely on purpose. Nobody steals the show, this isn't a movie where performances are emphasized but everyone does their job. Smit-McPhee is good as the naive boy chasing his dream, Fassbender's mere presence is enough and the same can be said about Ben Mendelsohn. Rory McCann was a pleasure to see, he makes everything better, including this movie. Caren Pistorius is fine with the little she has.Cinematography has some personal touches. It's not the grand spectacle of scenery and wide colourful shots some westerns can be known of, even though some of that can be found here too, but it feels a little more intimate. It's nice to look at, although not overly impressive.Transitions and editing seems to be a little hit or miss. Things don't flow in the way I'd like them to, and some emotional impact is often lost. At times it works really well, so it's hard to come to a conclusion. Music too. I do like the way how the simple main theme is almost always present and travels with us, but at times it comes across as meaningless.In the end, this is a hard movie to review, but I kind of liked it. The actors were good, there is a lovely innocent story plus a plethora of themes that don't quite connect. It's not quite an art-house movie, but for fans of traditional westerns it might as well be one. If you're looking for a tight story, engaging action, powerful characters and a rewarding ending where everything is resolved just the way you'd want, this is not the movie you want to watch. But if you're in that certain weird mood where you find yourself pondering about various things, you might like this. "Slow West" is a movie that probably has a lot to say, but doesn't always know how - or when - to say it. These movies have their place too.

Spikeopath Slow West is written and directed by John Maclean. It stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Ben Mendelsohn, Caren Pistorius and Rory McCann. Music is by Jed Kurzel and cinematography by Robbie Ryan.It's the late 1800s and a teenage Scottish aristocrat travels to the American West to track down the girl he loves with all his heart...There has been a number of modern day directors who have not only refused to let the Western genre die, but also to not be afraid to take it to a harshness of the West level. They have chosen to strip it back to a sense of realism, with no frills and bunting, just a show of tough times populated by tough people and people tough out of luck. Slow West is one such Oater.For his first full length feature, John Maclean has chosen to make a genre of film he clearly knows something about. It's got some familiar tropes - greenhorn, grizzled bounty hunter, deadly gang et al, but Maclean has still made a fresh picture, one that not only intrigues and excites, but also humours by way of some black comedy inserts.Essentially it's a travelogue piece, McPhee's lovelorn Jay Cavendish ends up being escorted on his journey by Fassbender's mysterious tough guy Silas Selleck. It's an odd yet engaging pairing, and as they are pursued by Selleck's old gang, and they come across a number of eccentric or devious characters, you may find yourself hoping that all the hidden agendas - the secrets bubbling away in the background - do not shatter the surrogate relationship neither was looking for.His heart was in the wrong place.Ah, but yes! Maclean shows gumption to go all mud and blood on our butts, building everything to a quite terrific final quarter of film that has rode in on a black stallion straight from noirville. No printing the legend here, it's a bitter commentary on the romanticised view of the Old West. Western fans keen of ear will pick up on some historically spiky dialogue exchanges, whilst also noting the nods towards the immigration angles, where Maclean doesn't pull punches as to how desperate the Old West was for many of those who travelled hoping for a better life.Predominantly filmed in New Zealand (superbly standing in for the American West), the panoramic cinematography is stunning, while it's great to see the backdrops are not just mountainous desert scapes, this journey goes through forestry as well. Cast are on prime form, Fassbender seems to be a given these days and it's hoped he will do a Western again, and McPhee plays off of him with genuine conviction. Then there's Mendelsohn, who has to be one of the finest Australian character actors working today, he's perfectly cast here, so his fans know exactly what they will be getting.The poster art is hugely frustrating, showing Caren Pistorius with a big beaming smile on her face, that is very much a bum steer. You would be wise to take more note of the faces of Messrs McPhee, Fassbender and Mendelsohn on that poster, for their facial portraits are more in keeping with this cracker-jack Western. 9/10

j-a-pollock I am writing this review fresh from watching SLOW WEST which in my humble opinion is absolute mince. Another reviewer called it surreal and that just about sums it up. Very poor entertainment, no chances of any prizes for this film. Three of us watched it together and within twenty minutes it was unanimous to switch it off. However, as the eternal martyr (as in, I paid for it) I continued alone to the end, and what a weird end it has. I won't give away what very little story-line there is as it is too trivial and unconvincing to put into words. My only reason for writing this is to reduce the Star Rating on this film which is FAR FAR too high. I can't think what the other reviewers were on when they rated this, but we all want some!! John Pollock.