The Oregon Trail was not a nice hike in the sun. In 19th century America, it was a 3,500 km ordeal across a harsh and barren wilderness. 400,000 pioneers attempted the journey in search of a better life. 4% of them didn’t make it. Some smaller parties would separate from the main wagon train to take ‘cut-offs’ or short cuts, after assuming they’d arrive earlier or avoid danger.
And not all of these short cuts were a good idea in hindsight. Not everyone made it to the finish. And not everyone had the mercy of a quick death.
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If you’ve seen 2019’s First Cow, then you’ll know the clout and calibre of director Kelly Reichardt; but if you’ve only seen First Cow, then you’re missing out on an incredible body of work and Meek’s Cutoff is perfect for your next watch.
The film is based on the true story of a lost party on the Oregon Trail, and their mounting, simmering desperation. For brevity, the original travelling party of 1,000 people is whittled down to seven, but the charismatic guide that led them into the Oregon desert is based on the real-life Stephen Meek, a man who is much more skilled at oratory and story-telling than he is at navigation and way-finding.
The grim reality of the journey is evident in the film’s opening scene, as Meek’s party attempt to cross an unremarkable river – a simple task that rapidly becomes incredibly tedious, immensely tiresome and potentially fatal. Reichardt is a master of unspoken characterisation, and this scene is a master class: Not only in how the characters try crossing, but also in how they conduct themselves on the other side of the riverbank. It’s a scene that’s also laden with tragic irony, as never again will the travellers be up to the necks in drinkable water.
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There’s a wealth of great performances on show: My personal stand-outs include Michelle Williams, in a career-best role as a young wife whose confidence increases as the surrounding incompetence spirals.
Paul Dano brilliantly captures how reasonable people under stress will reach unreasonable conclusions, which is as true in the time of COVID as it was on the Oregon Trail. Will Patton excels as the party’s voice of reason, but who is increasingly becoming isolated. And Bruce Greenwood as Meek himself, a man whose initially optimistic grandiloquence gradually gives way to something much darker, reflecting the prejudices of society and the rationalisation of genocide.
Is it possible to see Meek’s Cutoff as a metaphor for COVID in America? While it may not have been Reichardt’s original intention, there is enough accurate symbolism there to illustrate the point.
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Meek’s Cutoff is multi-awarding film – most notably at the Venice Film Festival – and it isn’t difficult to see why. Writer Jonathan Raymond and director Kelly Reichardt have crafted a swelteringly intense desert drama, the likes of which haven’t been seen since Ice Cold in Alex and Lawrence of Arabia.
Unhurried, unforgiving and unpredictable, Meek’s Cutoff is not only one of the great historic survival tales, but also an incredible indictment on human, masculine, and Western fallibility. Reichardt deftly illustrates the paranoia, panic and cruelty below the surface of ‘civilised’ society, as whatever preconceived notions of self-importance her characters had when they began this journey, eventually wilt and perish under the scrutiny and intensity of the desert sun.
Reichardt has taken no short cuts in providing the best of slow-burn cinema. Meek’s Cutoff is well worth your time, with one of the most thought-provoking ending scenes in film history. So load up your wagon and bring that extra barrel of water, because this is one desert road trip that is going to leave you parched… for more!
