The movie Western has been ubiquitous for decades now. Even during the down points of the ebb and flow of the genre’s popularity, there have always been at least a couple movies about hard, gun-wielding men trying to make their way in the American frontier that have come out every year. Combine the vast quantities of Westerns with the relative sameness of all of their content—they’re generally all gritty-toned morality tales that feature shots of wide open vistas—and the prospect of sitting through yet another Western can begin to sound like an exercise in pointlessness, or even a chore. That’s why it’s so danged refreshing whenever somebody comes along and actually manages to do something different with the genre like writer/director John Maclean has with his first feature, Slow West.
The film sees Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In, Paranorman) playing a naive young Scottish preppy traveling across the Colorado territory in the late 19th century in order to search for the girl who he’s in love with (Caren Pistorius). There are a couple problems with that. The first is the fact that he’s completely unsuited for survival in the American west, and the second is that, unbeknownst to him, the girl is wanted for murder, dead or alive, so all of the vicious, cutthroat bounty hunters in the region are also on her trail. Help with these problems comes in the form of a mysterious but capable frontiersman who offers to serve as his guide (Michael Fassbender), but further complications come in the form of the leader of a band of grimy bounty hunters (Ben Mendelsohn) who are looking to bag the girl (probably dead) and collect on her bounty.
While the story’s premise is typical of many other Westerns that have been made, that’s pretty much where Slow West’s similarities to what has come before it end. The actual twists and turns of the narrative (which is just as much about the folly of youthful infatuation-called-love as it is about bounties and gunslingers) always find a way to subvert the expectations of Western tropes, even while showing a great affection for them, and the whole thing builds up to a resolution that’s somehow both an anti-climax as well as a completely cathartic and appropriate end to the conflict. It’s really kind of ingenious, and does quite a bit to set the film apart from all of those nameless Westerns you’ve watched and forgotten over the years.
The differences between this movie and other Westerns are reflected in the tone and visual language of the film as well. Instead of a focus on shooting panoramas, much of the movie’s action takes place in small buildings or densely wooded areas, which gives it a more intimate feel than the typical epic. The design of the sets and the deliberate nature in which the characters are shot interacting with them often makes this feel like a Western by way of Wes Anderson, and the absurdism and dry humor that creeps into the dialogue and the character work often makes it feel like it could be the work of Joel and Ethan Coen. This is a Western that’s actually funny, without going as far as to become some kind of spoof. Imagine that.
Slow West is interesting in the way it deals with violence too. Most Westerns either use their gunplay for exploitive fun or for creating heart-rending melodrama, but Maclean looks at the death that happens in his film from a detached perspective. The violence that happens here is brutal and realistic, but it’s never lingered on (until, at last, it is) and there’s never any tipping of the hat through dramatic music cues or other means about how you’re supposed to be reacting to it. It’s almost as if the film is asking you to take a moment to ponder how you feel about all of the violence that happens in movies, or even all of the violence that’s been necessary to move the course of history forward.
As far as the acting goes, Fassbender is as charming as you would expect him to be as the gruff, seen-it-all guide. You generally get the sense that he’s a good guy, but Fassbender adds enough menace to his performance that you’re never completely sure you can trust him. Mendelsohn is as sleazy and frightening as you would expect him to be as the bad guy. He’s really created a niche for himself portraying memorable villains and hoods lately, and he’s one of the few performers working who can always pull off a bit of overacting. Smit-McPhee shows bravery in how willing he is to be completely vulnerable while playing a powerless, fairly pathetic character, and he will likely win himself some more work with what he did here. The supporting cast is strong as well. Game of Thrones’ Hound, Rory McCann, shows up in a small role and adds a lot of soul to what should have been a throwaway character all just by doing little things with his eyes. It’s rather impressive. Which is the same that could be set for most aspects of Slow West. It’s rather impressive. Especially for a first time feature.
