Slow West - 2015
Rating - 15
Run time - 84 mins
Written and directed by - John Maclean
Starring - Kodi Smit-McPhee, Michael Fassbender, Caren Pistorius, Ben Mendelsohn
Slow West is a 2015 western drama. The film was written and directed by John Maclean and was also his directorial debut. Set in the late 1800s - it stars Australian actor Kodi Smit-Mcphee as Jay Cavendish, a young Scot who travels to Colorado in search of his love, Rose (Caren Pistorius). On his journey, he is accompanied by Irish bounty hunter Silas Selleck (Michael Fassbender); he is discreetly on the hunt for Rose and her father (Rory McCann) because of the lavish bounty to be rewarded for their deaths after they are blamed for the accidental killing of Jay’s brutal uncle. On their expeditions they encounter many obstacles, the main one being Silas’ former boss, Payne (Ben Mendelsohn), but work together to protect themselves and each other.
Slow West gained generally positive reviews upon release. The film won the Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Jury Prize for a Dramatic Picture. The two lead actors of the film both featured in the cast of X-Men: Apocalypse the following year as Magento and Nightcrawler, and the ill-fated X-Men: Dark Phoenix in 2019.
Considering this was John Maclean’s directorial debut, this was a striking first effort. The film is rather quirky and artsy but still has the key elements of a classic western. The story is intriguing and engaging, fairly violent and laced throughout with dark, and somewhat droll, comedy. The cinematography in the film is so impressive and shows the scenery of New Zealand beautifully (Confusingly, it was filmed in New Zealand but set in Colorado).
The film is under the average length of a normal one but still manages to be a slow burner (no pun intended). There is also a lack of action or dialogue in places which makes it feel bland on occasion. Smit-McPhee and Fassbender are fantastic in their respective roles and breathe life into the rare duller scenes in the film.
I came across Slow West by chance and am glad to have seen it. It held my interest (which a lot of things don’t manage to do) and felt unique compared to any other western I've seen. The film is good to view if you want an entertaining film to watch in your spare time, but not one that is likely to ever be watched more than once or twice.
Score - 7/10
Slow West is available on Amazon Prime Video and also available on All4 until Sunday 3rd April.
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