Undoubtedly, a Texas-style film festival is going to have plenty to offer in the realm of the Western. Although this is really more of a cliché, adhering to the past, that doesn’t mean we cannot still enjoy a good film, in ANY genre.
Westward expansion seemed to happen in this country overnight, but travel was rarely fast, whether it by foot or by horse. For our lead character in “Slow West,” it seems that nothing should be taken for granted, either. No matter how badly your circumstances might be, you still have yourself and your dreams. No, that was not an intentional James Bond movie reference.
Jay Cavendish(played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”), is such a man. He is young and inexperienced, but sincere and determined. He “loves with all his heart,” though it might be “misplaced” and THAT alone is what he lives for, no matter what the consequences.
Along the way, he encounters a man who might’ve once been just as he is now, but has years of experience added upon him and is presumably a more rugged shell of what that person once was. HIS name is Silas Selleck(played by Michael Fassbender, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”), who also happens to be the tiresome narrator of the story. His role AS the narrator seems to serve no real purpose in moving the story along. Fassbender is a tremendously expressive and powerful performer, but clearly lacks the same palpable intensity I have become used to seeing, in THIS movie.
Equally ineffective are the flashback sequences, mostly showcasing familiar elements of young love between two, otherwise, precocious individuals. Some dream sequences are also mixed in, which contain a much more pressing and creative flair within the confines of the story and probably could’ve replaced the drab nature of the flashback segments. At the end of the day, this is merely a suggestion. Background story is important in a film such as this and despite its mostly uninspired execution, it is naturally unavoidable.
Throughout, the cinematography and style in which it is shown was pretty spot-on. It DID bring back some memories to the period of film in which Westerns were a lot more prevalent than they are today and the scenery DOES play a fairly effective part in the story. THIS was done well.
Some notable performances later in the movie include Ben Mendelsohn(“Exodus: Gods and Kings”) as Payne and Andrew Robertt as Werner. Both of these characters appear to be one-dimensional, but one pulls the rug right out from under you and when this happens, it is tragically comedic and aptly ironic.
It should be noted that there is little to nothing wrong with this film, technically-speaking. It is a linear tale and it unfolds quite nicely, with a clear message, but do not expect an engaging and totally connected presentation. You can determine for yourself what the real themes to this story actually are. They might make you sad, but they are somewhat expectant out of life and realistic, as well. What would YOU do for your “Rose” and would you be at all displeased with the outcome, no matter how you felt about the journey leading up to it? In summary, this was not a bad film, but there were certainly better films of this genre also showing at the 2015 DIFF.
