Every time I read an article about how the Western is a “dead” cinematic genre I almost immediately afterward see a film that proves that tired assertion dead. Yes, when Hollywood creates over-budget “Westerns” like Jonah Hex or The Lone Ranger with more in common with Michael Bay than John Ford, of course the results will likely fail. But when talented indie filmmakers get a chance to sink their teeth into the genre they often prove that not only is the Western one of the most cinematic of all film genres, it remains eternally fertile ground for wonderful storytelling. First time feature director John Maclean‘s Slow West proves that the Scottish musician has a keen eye for the storytelling power of the Western and has created what might end of being my favorite narrative film of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a lovesick teenager who has traveled from Scotland to the American West to reunite with Rose (Caren Pistorius), the girl he loves who was forced to flee Scotland. He is woefully unprepared for life on the frontier, particularly because he is too trusting in a region where nobody should be trusted. Jay crosses paths with Silas (Michael Fassbender doing his best “Man With No Name” impression, though in the best sense of the word “impression”), an outlaw with a quick trigger-finger, who offers to lead him to his destination and protect him for money. Though Jay is initially skeptical of the near-silent gunman, he soon realizes how dangerous and violent the West is without an experienced guide. The pair later find themselves on the run from Payne (Ben Mendelsohn), Silas’ former mentor who is also interested in finding Rose for his own reasons.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Slow West is that it is a movie with both a meandering mystery and a race against the clock. Though it seems like a pretty straightforward film in its opening scenes — boy is searching for girl, boy enlists tracker to help him — by the end of the first act it’s clear that Slow West is anything but a straightforward narrative. Obviously Fassbender is an incredibly talented actor and it would’ve been pointless to waste his talent on a one-dimensional role, so Silas’ character growth over the latter half of the film becomes the film’s signature character arc. That’s not to take anything away from Smit-McPhee, who is very effective as a young man driven more by his heart than his brains, but the true star here is undoubtedly Fassbender.
Though Slow West doesn’t depict an idealized West, it’s far from being a Revisionist Western. In fact, the vistas and the landscapes remain pristine and the Indians still look like they stepped out of a Frederic Remington painting, but it is the characters who are complex. Though the film has several antagonists, none of them can truly be defined as bad or evil — each has explanations for their actions, even if that motivation is simply for money. There are also some surprisingly hilarious gags that, while clever, somehow do not seem out-of-place in a period film. This all shows craftiness on the part of Maclean and a deep understanding of what makes a great Western movie as well.
Most importantly, Slow West breezes by at only 84 minutes. Too often directors fall under the assumption that Westerns must be of epic length because they’re too busy looking at the runtime of Sergio Leone movies instead of how Leone used that length. In fact, The Lone Ranger has a fraction of Slow West‘s power and story and is over an hour longer — and the gorgeous cinematography by Robbie Ryan and eye-catching designs by production designer Kim Sinclair are just part of the reason why.
The Western has never really been a dead genre — it’s just been reclaimed by directors who have realized it owes more to substance than style. Slow West is an intricate character drama that would make John Ford and Howard Hawks proud. It’s bound to be one of the most acclaimed and successful films coming out of Tribeca this year, and it deserves every accolade it will receive.
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