Slow West
Directed by John Maclean
- western
- drama
- adventure
- romance
- thriller
The story
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.
What it’s like
Wide, sun-bleached Colorado landscapes dominate Slow West: vast grassland and bare ridgelines under hard, flat daylight, with the occasional campfire glowing orange against blue dusk. The camerawork favours long, composed shots that let riders shrink against enormous skies, and the colour palette runs to dusty ochres, pale greens and washed-out blues, with a stylised, painterly sharpness at the edges of the frame. The score is spare and drifting, built on plucked strings and low, held drones, punctuated by sudden gunshots that cut the quiet. Its vibe is dry, wry and melancholy, with flashes of dark comedy, suited to a long afternoon on the couch or a slow evening alone. Pacing is unhurried, with stretches of silence on the trail; the emotional arc follows a naive young man learning hard truths about love and loyalty from a weary, guarded companion. Violence is present and sudden: several shootings and a brutal, bloody stretch in the later act, though it is brief and not lingered on. For viewers who want an offbeat, humane western that is wry rather than grim, and who don't mind sharp moments of violence.
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