Synopsis
In the Old West, a 17-year-old Scottish boy teams up with a mysterious gunman to find the woman with whom he is infatuated.
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Cast
- Michael FassbenderSilas
- Kodi Smit-McPheeJay Cavendish
- Ben MendelsohnPayne
- Caren PistoriusRose Ross
- Rory McCannJohn Ross
- Eddie CampbellSkelly
- Brooke WilliamsMaria
- Alex MacQueenRupert Cavendish
- Kalani QueypoKotori
- Madeleine SamiMarimacho
Recommendations
- 83
The Playlist
A dark, but spirited fable about the pitilessness of the West, the meaning of home on the range and the worthwhile qualities of wicked, seemingly irredeemable men, “Slow West” is a terrific little parable, and a strong debut by John Maclean worth treasuring. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
Maclean's screenplay is unshowy but keen. - 80
Variety
John Maclean’s impeccably crafted writing-directing debut at times has a distinctly Coen-esque flavor in its mix of sly intelligence, bleak humor and unsettling violence, exuding fierce confidence even when these qualities don’t always cohere in the smoothest or most emotionally impactful fashion. - 80
Screen Daily
The saga, directed by a Scot in New Zealand with no American actors, takes us back to American truths. Guns, greed and rugged nature defined the West, setting the New World apart from the old. The roots run deep. - 80
The New Yorker
The director is John Maclean, making his début, and, if he demonstrates how hard it is to handle whimsy, he more than atones for it with two tremendous set pieces — one in a store, and the other in an isolated homestead, girded with cornfields where a shooter can nestle and hide. - 80
Time Out
Like any good Western, Slow West percolates with the constant threat of violence, but debuting feature director John Maclean wrings the genre for its mythic value. - 75
Movie Nation
Maclean and his cast create a sound, tone and feel that makes even a moldy tale like this lean, mean and fresh, even if it never quite transcends the gun smoke of its genre. - 70
New York Magazine (Vulture)
If Slow West never quite settles on a tone to call its own, it does still offer many pleasures. Fassbender and Smit-McPhee are excellent — the boy's outward bewilderment and unpreparedness play off well against the cowboy’s ragged, stone-faced charisma.
