Taking place at the end of the nineteenth century, John M. Maclean's Slow West tells the story of Jay Cavendish, a 16 year-old Scottish immigrant, who journeys across the American frontier in search of the woman he loves. Somewhat oblivious to the true dangers of the American Frontier, Jay meets a mysterious man in Silas, who offers to help Jay travel westward and reach Rose. Slow West is a beautifully photographed deconstruction of the Western genre that aims to capture the brutality of the time period. This is a film that lives cloaked in mystery for much of its running time, keeping the viewer in the dark about the true intentions of Silas, a man who clearly is used to killing. As the film progresses it becomes clear that nearly anyone can be trusted, with Jay being almost entirely surrounded by harsh men who are solely out for themselves. While the film's insights about the old West are a little unfocused, the character of Jay Cavendish is the one beckon of love and kindness throughout the film, the one man who hasn't been corrupted completely, even though he is surrounded by death and despair. His relationship with Silas is the most interesting aspect of the film, as Silas slowly becomes affected by his relationship with the kind-hearted Jay. Slow West does a really good job at capturing how little a man's life means in the old west, showing how murder was simply an aspect of survival, with life itself having very little value in this brutal landscape. Characters speak of death in such a trivial way, with one scene of black humor standing out where a man tells a story of how he accidentially killed a man, which is received by laughter not horror around the camp fire. Typical of genre, Slow West is a beautiful looking movie that juxtaposes sweeping and vast landscapes with the brutality and violence of the era. The compositions are beautifully realized, using lighting that contrasts themes of darkness and light in a visual way. Slow West ends in a way that just feels right for this Western fable, being a somber look at a time period where survival was all that mattered.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|