Director Report Card: Kelly Reichardt (2010)

4. Meek's Cutoff

Her indie cred long since established, with a considerable amount of critical respect under her belt, Kelly Reichardt was ready to tackle her most ambitious motion picture yet. The director would draw inspiration from a true, strange story from history. Meek's Cutoff was a wagon trail leading west branding off from the Oregon Trail, an alternate path designated for emigrants and so named for nature guide and fur trapper Stephen Meek. The trail was notoriously troubled by harsh conditions and illness. From these historical roots, Reichardt would weave another critically adored, low-key motion picture of quiet tension.

The year is 1845. A small group of emigrant settlers head across the Oregon desert, lead by a guide named Meek. Meek doesn't know the territory as well as he claims to and what should've been a standard two week journey stretches into two arduous months. Supplies run low, water especially becoming scarce. Paranoia and tension arise among the men, especially once an Indian is forced to join the group. Emily, wife of one of the settlers, attempts to be the voice of reason in the increasingly bad situation.

“Meek's Cutoff” falls into the western genre, with its tale of the wild frontier, terse men with six shooters, Indians and covered wagons. However, it's more accurately described as a survival story. Reichardt returns to her favorite theme for its most brutal variation yet. She introduces another protagonist that's trapped, as much by the circumstances around her as the physical environment. Yet the stakes are higher than ever before. Bad luck waits around every turn. Simple necessities like food and water are at risk. People die on this journey. “Meek's Cutoff” shows, in all too harsh details, how difficult the frontier life actually could be.

More than ever before, Reichardt focuses on the struggles women face. Emily, it often seems, is the only reasonable person on this entire journey. She is visibly unimpressed with Meek, as he tells blustery tales of killing Indians. She's the first person to see through his bullshit, foreshadowing that his knowledge of the trail is unimpressive too. As the story goes on, Meek growing more unhinged, violence nearly erupts between the two. In a key moment, Meek explains his expertise on women and Emily practically rolls her eyes. This is an apt summation of the entire film: This woman sees the truth but nobody listens to her, due to the sexism of the time. And all times.

If “Meek's Cutoff” is a examination of how sexism has crippled American progress, it has similar thoughts about frontier racism. In real life, the Meek's Cutoff path was chosen by settlers due to fears of an attack by the local tribes. In Reichardt's “Meek's Cutoff,” at least one of the women on the trail is driven into a fit from fear of the Indians. When the actual Indian joins the party, these fears only increase. Meek is belligerent to the man constantly, referring to him only as the heathen and talking about how all Indians are savages and killers. Yet he's the only one that's violent. The Indian quietly keeps to himself. He respects the dead. Moreover, he's the only one who actually seems to know where he's going. The reasonable peaceful indigenous people being hassled and attacked by white settlers that think they know better: The entire history of American expansion in miniature.

Yet Reichardt is not just commenting on America's general history in “Meek's Cutoff.” Her concerns, in fact, where on something far more recent. The film was, apparently, largely inspired by the George W. Bush administration. Once this knowledge is present, it becomes impossible not to see parallels. A head-strong but ultimately clueless man, a self-professed cowboy, leads all-too-trusting Americans into the desert. He's antagonistic to the local population, who know the territory much better than him. A character even utters the line “Stay the course” at a key moment. If the macho bullshit of the Bush II era pushed Reichardt to such frustration and anger, I can only imagine what her thoughts on our current ego-driven political quagmire is.

The quiet tension that occasionally took over “Wendy and Lucy” occupies all of “Meek's Cutoff.” Reichardt utilizes a number of tools to  increase this discomforting feeling. The film is shot in 1.33:1 aspect ratio, otherwise known as the Academy Ratio. The constricting black bars on both sides of the screen seems to squeeze the characters in, making them seem even more trapped than they appear. The night scenes are so dark, naturally lit, that you can barely see what's happening some times. Once again, the director places her characters as small figures in large, natural environments. The wagon train seems so small out in the desert, all the more vulnerable. The first scene in “Meek's Cutoff” shows the pioneers attempting to ford a river, setting up the atmosphere of hardship early on. The film is determined to make the viewer understand how hard this journey is for its characters, Reichardt's direction following suit.

Adding to this unsettling tone is the amazing sound design. Much like “Wendy and Lucy,” this film largely lacks a musical score. When music is heard, it's a low, throbbing, discordant note that only puts the viewer more on edge. Mostly, the aural landscape of “Meek's Cutoff” is devoted to the squeaking wheels of the wagons. It's a constant reminder of how uncomfortable this journey is for everyone. More than once, Reichardt assumes the perspective of the film's female characters as they watch the men in the distance, talking about something. Much like the women themselves, we can only hear far-off mumbling. Again, this puts the viewer right in the characters' position, of frustration and distrust.

After “Wendy and Lucy” proved to be such a fruitful collaboration, it only made sense that Reichardt would re-team with the actress here. If Wendy was largely a vulnerable character, Emily is much more driven. She's a deeply frustrated woman. Society dictates that women do nothing but take orders but Emily can only take so much of sitting and watching. Williams never raises her voice yet she gets across how forceful and strong a personality Emily is. As the reasonable P.O.V. into this doomed expedition, we couldn't have had a better one. Williams is, once again, fantastic.

For the first time, Reichardt teams with known movie stars in “Meek's Cutoff.” Aside from Williams, the supporting cast has several familiar faces in it. Bruce Greenwood plays Meek, adopting a gravelly voice and a huge, shaggy beard. If Meek ever has any doubts about his actions, Greenwood never let its show, creating a perfectly obnoxious wannabe leader. Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan appear as two of the would-be settlers, Kazan panicking well and Dano perfectly cast as a feckless man who just repeats what others say. Will Patton also reappears from “Wendy and Lucy,” as Emily's understanding but ultimately no-more-helpful husband.

The first time I saw “Meek's Cutoff,” I'll admit that I didn't like it. I had loved “Wendy and Lucy” and, perhaps, had gotten my hopes for Reichardt's follow-up too high. Mostly, my main contention with “Meek's Cutoff” is its glacial pacing. Running 103 minutes – normal by movie standards but long in comparison to Reichardt's first three features – not much really happens for most of it. With the lack of music, “Meek's Cutoff” becomes an especially stark and drawn-out viewing experience. This is, of course, exactly the point. The audience is meant to feel as frustrated and tired out as the characters. But it helps to know what you are getting into before seeing the film.

Similarly, don't expect an ending that wraps up loose ends. In real life, the settlers broke into two groups, suffered more deaths and hardships, but eventually reached their destinations. In Reichardt's film, she cuts it off just as they arrive at the fork in the journey. While Reichardt is clearly exercising her interest in simply dropping in on her characters' lives, this ending leaves “Meek's Cutoff” on an ominous note. As Emily watches the Indian wander off, and hears the rest of the settlers discuss continuing with Meek, a sense of dread settles in. This journey is doomed. While not satisfying on a narrative level, it sure does make an impact on an emotional level.

I think another reason I was disappointed in “Meeks' Cutoff” at first is that the A.V. Club, where I got most of my movie news at the time, hailed it as one of the best films of the year. Obviously, I did not get then what I was expecting. On the second viewing, I liked “Meek's Cutoff” a lot more. Functioning largely as a disquieting mood piece, and a commentary on American history old and more recent, it is certainly effective. After the emotional raw nerve of “Wendy and Lucy,” it pales a little in comparison. Yet I realize now that Reichardt and her film succeed at just what she set out to do. And she did it all with a PG rating too. [Grade: B]