Meek’s Cutoff (2011)
84%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 14 nominations
Moving at a contemplative speed unseen in most westerns, Meek’s Cutoff is an effective, intense journey of terror and survival in the untamed frontier
Meek’s Cutoff is a film that will make you feel like you’re on the Oregon Trail, without all the dysentery. Michelle Williams shines as the only Dawson’s Creek alum with a noteworthy film career (sorry, Pacey). The slow pacing and attention to detail may not be for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for a revisionist Western that’s both poetic and terrifying, this is the movie for you. Just make sure to bring plenty of water and snacks, because you’ll feel like you’re on the journey with the characters.
Production Company(ies)
The Mirisch Corporation,
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Burns, Oregon, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some mild violent content, brief language and smoking
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.33 : 1
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Runtime:1h 41m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 8, 2011 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 20, 2011
Genre(s)
Western
Keyword(s)
starring Michelle Williams, Bruce Greenwood, Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano, Shirley Henderson, directed by Kelly Reichardt, written by Jonathan Raymond, Western, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Jim Schembri, Ben Sachs, Bill Goodykoontz, Rene Rodriguez, Ann Hornaday, Tom Long, Brian Eggert, Amelie Lasker, Bianca Garner, Felicia Feaster, Debbie Lynn Elias, PG, Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Elizabeth Cuthrell, David Urrutia, produced by, Native American, Oregon Trail, covered wagon, pioneer, survival, terror, journey, wilderness, guide, Stephen Meek, Emily Tetherow, Solomon Tetherow, Millie Gately, Glory White, cinematography, slow-paced, contemplative, intense, effective, beautiful, stark, realism, trust, fear, prejudice, tension, lost, food, water, desert, dangerous, journey, terror, survival, untamed, frontier
Worldwide gross: $1,205,257
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,586,718
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,479
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 173,034
US/Canada gross: $977,772
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,287,235
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,125
US/Canada opening weekend: $20,024
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $26,362
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,421
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $2,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $2,632,996
Production budget ranking: 1,995
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,417,868
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$2,464,146
ROI to date (est.): -61%
ROI ranking: 1,752
Bruce Greenwood – Stephen Meek
Will Patton – Solomon Tetherow
Zoe Kazan – Millie Gately
Paul Dano – Thomas Gately
Shirley Henderson – Glory White
Director – Kelly Reichardt
Producer – Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Elizabeth Cuthrell, David Urrutia
Writer – Jonathan Raymond
Director(s)
Kelly Reichardt
Writer(s)
Jonathan Raymond
Producer(s)
Neil Kopp, Anish Savjani, Elizabeth Cuthrell, David Urrutia
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 14 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (131) | Top Critics (53) | Fresh (113) | Rotten (18)
Michelle Williams is now the only Dawson’s Creek cast member with a chat-worthy film career.
June 16, 2011 | Rating: 3.5/5
Jim Schembri
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Imagine a collaboration between John Ford and Wallace Stevens and you might get a sense of what Kelly Reichardt pulls off here: a sincere re-creation of the pioneer experience, brought to life through careful, often unexpected detail.
May 27, 2011
Ben Sachs
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Greatly enhanced by the performances of Michelle Williams and Bruce Greenwood, director Kelly Reichardt’s film quietly becomes engrossing – it almost sneaks up on you.
May 26, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
There are stretches that are, frankly, boring. But the vivid details and intimacy you develop with these travelers sticks with you, leaving you in awe of the insane feats people had to accomplish in order for us to enjoy the world we know today.
May 25, 2011
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
A mesmerizing cinematic journey that is often as arduous and spare as the lives of its hard-bitten protagonists.
May 20, 2011 | Rating: 4/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
This is the sort of film critics love to praise because the filmmaker has done good work before; and well, there must be something there. Well, there’s not.
May 13, 2011 | Rating: D
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
A haunting film about people finally resigning themselves to the chaos of the universe.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Slowly, our own exhaustion and concern grow with the travelers’ weariness. With deft acting and skillful pacing, you can feel the heat and dryness in their throats.
February 25, 2021
Amelie Lasker
FF2 Media
This a slow, artistic, revisionistic take on the Western film so it’ll certainly be a good film to watch and absorb over the course of a long hot summer’s afternoon.
February 2, 2021
Bianca Garner
In Their Own League
Meek’s Cutoff could be the most understated, and historically accurate, horror film in history. It’s both the scariest and most poetic film of the year.
January 17, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
[T]his story is one in which the audience will become so invested in the unvarnished struggle, the hardship… that one can’t help but walk away from the theatre with a new sense of understanding and appreciation for America’s history.
November 16, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
[Director Kelly] Reichardt, who previously directed Williams in Wendy and Lucy, shows us with great subtlety the physical and emotional drama here, one that’s properly underplayed, given the strictures of the time.
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner…
Plot
During the 1840s, a group of settlers and their guide are lost in the desert with limited resources, and their guide refuses to acknowledge their dire situation. When they capture a Native American who offers to lead them to water, tensions rise as they must decide whether to trust him or continue following their stubborn guide.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Michelle Williams delivers a solid minimalist performance in Meek’s Cutoff.
Kelly-Reichardt.jpg
