This article is part of NUFEC's ongoing coverage of the Independent Film Festival Boston 2015.
Slow West chronicles the journey of a Scottish 16-year-old, Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), as he travels across the American frontier at the end of the nineteenth century in search of the woman he loves. A good-natured and naive boy, he’s quickly taken under the wing (or forced under) by a mysterious outlaw and traveler named Silas (Michael Fassbender). Unbeknownst to him, he is not the only one searching for the woman he loves.
This film has garnered praise across the board at film festivals and is due out this summer in the theatre and in video on-demand at the same time. It’s a film about going west in search of a better life–in this case, with the person you love–and it could easy drift into romanticism. It manages to be aware of that tendency, even at one point including a character who is chronicling the demise of the Native Americans talk about the likely tendency to romanticize their fate.
Still, I wasn’t blown away. Jay’s naivete made for a few funny moments, and his accumulating strength in key moments was endearing, but the film didn’t do many new things for me. There were a lot of deaths and there was some commentary on outlaws and children, but really nothing that I felt was phenomenal. I feel very indifferent towards the film, unfortunately. The cinematography was lovely, but nothing that I would give an award to.
So, see it or don’t. You’ll probably like something about it, even if it's just that you can watch it on VOD in your PJs at the same time as people can see it in theaters.
Grade: C
This film has garnered praise across the board at film festivals and is due out this summer in the theatre and in video on-demand at the same time. It’s a film about going west in search of a better life–in this case, with the person you love–and it could easy drift into romanticism. It manages to be aware of that tendency, even at one point including a character who is chronicling the demise of the Native Americans talk about the likely tendency to romanticize their fate.
Still, I wasn’t blown away. Jay’s naivete made for a few funny moments, and his accumulating strength in key moments was endearing, but the film didn’t do many new things for me. There were a lot of deaths and there was some commentary on outlaws and children, but really nothing that I felt was phenomenal. I feel very indifferent towards the film, unfortunately. The cinematography was lovely, but nothing that I would give an award to.
So, see it or don’t. You’ll probably like something about it, even if it's just that you can watch it on VOD in your PJs at the same time as people can see it in theaters.
Grade: C
RSS Feed
