Review of The Donner Party

To call this film "The Donner Party" is misleading. The events portrayed are mostly fictional, loosely based on the actual tragedy, and do a great disservice to the historical truth behind what really happened. The scope of the film encompasses only a handful of the party who attempt to cross the Sierra Nevadas to California in hopes of bringing back a rescue team for the remaining survivors, which is based on an actual attempt. But there is little coverage of the events leading to their predicament in the mountains, only passing references and incomplete pieces of information. Although the direction does nicely capture the brutality of their circumstance it also portrays people numbingly boring and cartoonish. The dialogue is dull and awkwardly delivered with a multitude of intense, soap opera close ups. Long stretches of yawning wide shots and wordless scenes of boots plodding inch by inch through thick snow. But my real problem is the focus on cannibalism. Once the food runs out they decide someone needs to die so the others may live. Aside from the glaring historical inaccuracy, the film seemed to become about cannibalism. It's known that the Donner Party did eventually resort to cannibalism, but not to the extent outlined in this film. It was more like a cheap and overused plot tool to gross out the audience, albeit not graphically. But the lifeboat mentality over who was next became practically comical. The only bright spot in this was Crispin Glover as the transparently weak minded, pious, self preservationist. His character was the only one I found believable as a figure from the Donner Party. The remaining cast were two dimensional pretty people slathered in fake dirt and period costumes. I don't recommend this film but I particularly advise anyone who may be looking for anything to do with the real Donner Party to prepare for disappointment. YouTube has plenty of documentaries. This is fiction.