Introducing: Movie Reviews!

Ah I’m so excited about this! This is a new segment that I thought of a while ago, and I hope that you’ll enjoy it! I reached out to my brother, who watches a lot of movies to see if he’d be interested in writing any reviews for my blog. He’s much better at it than I am, because I have a terrible habit of loving literally every movie that I watch. Plus, I trust him in what to watch. He also has a background in arts, and pulls out more technical details in sets and cinematography that I never even notice.

He watches a lot of foreign/independent movies, so be prepared to learn about movies that might not be at the top of your radar, but definitely shouldn’t be missed! Enjoy!

When art film meets a western, magic happens. This film may not be for everyone, but if you love the romanticism of the Western Frontier, then Slow West is your ticket.

The plot is fairly simple, a young boy (McPhee) follows the young woman (Pistorius) he loves westward from Scotland to the American frontier. Along the way he meets up with a rough and tumble bounty hunter (Fassbender) and together they head off to chase the setting sun. On their journey they meet various Ole West cliches like an outlaw posse, a wagoner, a trading post, a band of Native Americans, etc. What again makes this film stand out from the rest is the slight details that add a unique facet to these tried and true Western staples. The wagoner, for example, looking like your typical snake-oil peddling trader wagon turns out to be a German naturalist recording the decline of Native populations. It is the little things like that which add a lot of depth and interest.

The beauty of this film cannot be understated. It shines with a luster and vividness, due in part to its use of a saturated colour palette. The well composed landscape shots scream to vibrant life, offering up an array of hues to tickle your eyes. I think it was a conscious choice for the director to juxtapose the bleakness of life on the Frontier with the eye popping colour and liveliness of the landscape. And for me this is what separates Slow West from other western films, which usually rely on dust-bowl America-like imagery to convey the loneliness, dreariness and hardship of the frontier.

Performances by the cast are all solid. Fassbender never disappoints, and his character, although lacking any real back story or development, is nonetheless likable and a hero to root for. McPhee is perfectly cast as a scrawny naive boy yearning for love in the wrong place. His Scottish accent is a little inconsistent at times. And Pistorius delivers a believable performance and fills out her role well. Directed by the relative newcomer John Maclean, (of which I think this is his first feature length film) the film is a commendable notch on any director’s belt.

Overall, a pretty great movie and a fantastic modern western.

3 and a half pickles out of 4

If you like Fassbender, check out Hunger (2008).

If you like modern westerns, check out The Homesman (2014) and True Grit (2010)