Meek's Cutoff (12A)

★★★ Kelly Reichardt's boldness in eschewing a sprawling retelling of how the West was won should be applauded, but she hasn't yet earned the right to take this long saying so little. ~ Little White Lies.

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A cinema screening of Director Kelly Reichardt's 2010 western.

Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine;Shutter Island;Wendy and Lucy) stars alongside Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) and Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek; I'm Not There; Capote) in a tense, subtle drama set during the earliest days of the Oregon Trail.

The year is 1845 and a wagon team of three families is setting off across the sparse terrain of the Oregon desert.

They are guided by mountain man Stephen Meek, but when they become lost in the dry rock and sage, their faith in their guide, and in each other, weakens.

After days of wandering, suffering the hardships of the inhospitable landscape and unable to find water, a Native American wanderer crosses their path.

The pioneers are torn between trusting their guide or a man who has always been seen as the enemy.

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★★★★ Gaunt, mysterious, and appearing to come from another age, this is a bleak, enigmatic and masterful western about families on the Oregon trail. ~ The Guardian.

★★★★ ~ Financial Times.

★★★★ ~ The Scotsman.

★★★★ ~ Empire.