Meek's Cutoff is a weak movie. We are forced to watch the daily monotonous routine of three families lost on the way to Oregon. Their seemingly incompetent leader Steven Meek (played by the unrecognizable Bruce Greenwood) assures them that they will reach their goal shortly and that they will find water... neither promise is being kept. Along the way they encounter a lone Native American, who is despised by Meek since, as he claims, knows "what they are capable of". Since the Indian's native language is not translated via subtitles, the movie viewer is in the same boat at the characters in the movie: We don't know what he is saying. We don't know whether he understands what the Americans are saying.
While Meek is still on the "warpath" and wants to get rid of the Indian, one of the wives, Emily Tetherow, played by Michelle Williams, has been showing some compassion and protects him from Meek. This is about the only scene in the movie that stirred some emotion in me. The rest did not impress me at all and I certainly didn't like the ending... "let the audience decide". In my opinion, this is the weakest part of the movie and I hate endings that are loose ends.
Of the other characters, Solomon Tetherow, played by Will Patton, seemed the most likable next to his wife (Michelle Williams). However, I did get a sense of their hardship and desperation, but didn't feel much sympathy for their plight. All in all, the movie is not as poetic as the critics make it out to be, nor is it a masterpiece. This is definitely not a Must-See movie...
While Meek is still on the "warpath" and wants to get rid of the Indian, one of the wives, Emily Tetherow, played by Michelle Williams, has been showing some compassion and protects him from Meek. This is about the only scene in the movie that stirred some emotion in me. The rest did not impress me at all and I certainly didn't like the ending... "let the audience decide". In my opinion, this is the weakest part of the movie and I hate endings that are loose ends.
Of the other characters, Solomon Tetherow, played by Will Patton, seemed the most likable next to his wife (Michelle Williams). However, I did get a sense of their hardship and desperation, but didn't feel much sympathy for their plight. All in all, the movie is not as poetic as the critics make it out to be, nor is it a masterpiece. This is definitely not a Must-See movie...