Meek's Cutoff (2010)

Settlers traveling through the Oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions.

Director:

Kelly Reichardt

Writer:

Jonathan Raymond (screenplay)

Stars:

Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Michelle Williams	...	Emily Tetherow
Bruce Greenwood	...	Stephen Meek
Will Patton	...	Soloman Tetherow
Zoe Kazan	...	Millie Gately
Paul Dano	...	Thomas Gately
Shirley Henderson	...	Glory White
Neal Huff	...	William White
Tommy Nelson	...	Jimmy White
Rod Rondeaux	...	The Indian

Storyline

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the coming days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other's instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.

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Plot Keywords:

oregon | desert | trust | water | oregon trail | 

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Genres:

Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild violent content, brief language and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [fr]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2011 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Meek's Oregon 1845 Cutoff

Filming Locations:

Oregon, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$20,042 (USA) (8 April 2011)

Gross:

$977,600 (USA) (19 August 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evenstar Films, Film Science, Harmony Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Early in the film, three women are walking across the baked desert following the wagons, presumably to the west. The guide may be off course but nobody would mistake east for west. Yet the womens' shadows are to their left as they walk, and since the sun would always be in the southern sky in Oregon, they could only be walking east. A basic detail that a director should not miss.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Awards Special 2012 (2012)

User Reviews

Goes Nowhere throughout

The movie was always going to be a slow starter from the length of time before any dialogue but this actually didn't start and ended without any conclusion. I've was amazed when the end credits came up because nothing had happened all through the film.

If I had an hour and a half of my life to waste I would spend it watching re-runs of an old comedy series that I'd seen a thousand times rather than watch this drivel again. I can honestly say that I have never been so disappointed with a movie and I watch a lot of movies.

My main reason for watching this was because of the good rating on IMDb but I'll check other sources in the future if this is what gets a 6.8 on here.