The western genre can be as unkind as the west itself. If the stars aren't aligned you're in for a bumpy ride. The trail is especially hazardous for filmmakers today. Few try their hand at the old stereotypes. Recently the focus has been on the brutality of the environment and the weird folks one encounters while traversing the wilderness.
Slow West, sadly, is no exception. The photography is gorgeous, but breathtaking landscapes can only do so much. Just watch Tommy Lee Jones' 2014 western The Homesman (now streaming on Netflix) and you'll understand. Lots of beautiful images, but a weird, unappealing story that drags too long and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Slow West follows Jay (Kodi Smit- McPhee), a Scottish native who has come to America in search of his beloved Rose. While on the trail he encounters Silas (Michael Fassbender), an outlaw who takes Jay under his wing to help him journey across the land. Little does Jay know that Silas has other intentions.
While there is a fair amount to like in this film, the bad outweigh the good. For one, we have no idea how much time is passing. I think they tried to make it seem like more time had passed by having Silas give Jay a shave, but it felt awkward and out of place. And while Silas and Jay are very different at the start, as is the case for most duos in the genre, I didn't really see them bond over anything except for one particular scene where Jay figured out how to dry their clothes. Was that enough to win Silas' friendship?
Just when things start clicking between the two main characters we are already at the climax of the film. And that's a shame because the acting isn't that bad. I wanted at least another half hour of character development, especially once the bad guy shows up, played by one of my favorite characters actors Ben Mendelsohn. He has a certain look that he has nailed. That, "I might be cool right now but say the wrong thing and I will go off," look. He had it in last year's Starred Up. His character here comes in too late and there is not enough of him on screen.
For a film with the word, "Slow," in the title, this film moves way too fast. If you look back at other westerns their runtimes are typically in the 110 to 140 minute range. While there are few exceptions (High Noon being one), these stories take time to get through. And that feels right to me. Time was something a lot of cowpokes and frontiersmen had. There was no rush. This film flies to the finish, which us saying something because the landscape forces the characters to take their time. This film sort of cheats by using the forest as a cover for how much land is in front and behind them. But still, the story goes by way too fast. It sets itself up as a big adventure for Jay, but it really only takes about an hour before the big finale begins.
And don't get me started on the ending. I won't spoil it for you but it basically makes this entire film a wash. Nothing gained. I don't want to say I was mad, but I certainly wasn't pleased. I might have enjoyed it more if there was more filler before it happened, but it felt like I just waisted an hour and a half.
While I've done a good amount of trash talking about this, I can't say it's a bad film. It's just not for me. The camera work is good, the acting is solid (I'm a sucker for Fassbender), and the effects are fine. I guess I'm a little snobby about my westerns. I hate seeing the genre that I was raised on treated as a sideshow attraction. For a while I thought the genre, much like the west itself, had been conquered. Mapped out, drilled for oil, with nothing left but reminders of what it used to be. Luckily there are still a few gold nuggets left in those hills. While Slow West isn't the film the genre deserves, at least it tried.
Slow West, sadly, is no exception. The photography is gorgeous, but breathtaking landscapes can only do so much. Just watch Tommy Lee Jones' 2014 western The Homesman (now streaming on Netflix) and you'll understand. Lots of beautiful images, but a weird, unappealing story that drags too long and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Slow West follows Jay (Kodi Smit- McPhee), a Scottish native who has come to America in search of his beloved Rose. While on the trail he encounters Silas (Michael Fassbender), an outlaw who takes Jay under his wing to help him journey across the land. Little does Jay know that Silas has other intentions.
While there is a fair amount to like in this film, the bad outweigh the good. For one, we have no idea how much time is passing. I think they tried to make it seem like more time had passed by having Silas give Jay a shave, but it felt awkward and out of place. And while Silas and Jay are very different at the start, as is the case for most duos in the genre, I didn't really see them bond over anything except for one particular scene where Jay figured out how to dry their clothes. Was that enough to win Silas' friendship?
Just when things start clicking between the two main characters we are already at the climax of the film. And that's a shame because the acting isn't that bad. I wanted at least another half hour of character development, especially once the bad guy shows up, played by one of my favorite characters actors Ben Mendelsohn. He has a certain look that he has nailed. That, "I might be cool right now but say the wrong thing and I will go off," look. He had it in last year's Starred Up. His character here comes in too late and there is not enough of him on screen.
For a film with the word, "Slow," in the title, this film moves way too fast. If you look back at other westerns their runtimes are typically in the 110 to 140 minute range. While there are few exceptions (High Noon being one), these stories take time to get through. And that feels right to me. Time was something a lot of cowpokes and frontiersmen had. There was no rush. This film flies to the finish, which us saying something because the landscape forces the characters to take their time. This film sort of cheats by using the forest as a cover for how much land is in front and behind them. But still, the story goes by way too fast. It sets itself up as a big adventure for Jay, but it really only takes about an hour before the big finale begins.
And don't get me started on the ending. I won't spoil it for you but it basically makes this entire film a wash. Nothing gained. I don't want to say I was mad, but I certainly wasn't pleased. I might have enjoyed it more if there was more filler before it happened, but it felt like I just waisted an hour and a half.
While I've done a good amount of trash talking about this, I can't say it's a bad film. It's just not for me. The camera work is good, the acting is solid (I'm a sucker for Fassbender), and the effects are fine. I guess I'm a little snobby about my westerns. I hate seeing the genre that I was raised on treated as a sideshow attraction. For a while I thought the genre, much like the west itself, had been conquered. Mapped out, drilled for oil, with nothing left but reminders of what it used to be. Luckily there are still a few gold nuggets left in those hills. While Slow West isn't the film the genre deserves, at least it tried.