They title really says it all, it's slow and it's a western. It has some really nice cinematography but the actual directing is nothing to shout about.
I have three main problems with this film.
Firstly are the performances. Micheal Fassbender gives a somewhat lackluster turn as the outlaw Silas which is a real shame as he has had some incredible performances earlier in they year as Macbeth and Steve Jobs.
Kodi Smit-McPhee also give a underwhelming performance as Jay Cavendish, a young boy traveling the frontier to find his girlfriend Rose (Caren Pistorius) who actually give the best performance in this film.
My other problem with Slow West is that all the locations they visit look remarkably like sets and not real places, especially the buildings which all have a 'newly built from B&Q' look to them which really betrays the character of the wild west which is supposed to be gritty and dirty.
My last issue with Slow West is more a personal one. I never really connected with the characters and a lot of the time I felt their actions never really lined up with what they were saying which led to points where I was wondering if I had missed a part of the movie.
Having said this though there are a lot of things to like about Slow West.
As I said before the cinematography is really excellent. Also whilst it may take a while to get going the finale is really something to behold.
There is also a cartoon-like sense to the movie in the way it looked and how the characters moved, this may not be for everyone but I found it quite endearing and gave the film a whole lot of personality.
To sum Slow West up, I would say that its a very artsy but quite enjoyable film to watch.
If you enjoyed the likes of Drive and you are into westerns then I would recommend you check this out.
If you are more of a mainstream cinema goer however I don't think you would gel too well with Slow West, at only 84 minutes however you might as well give it a go.
Thanks for reading my quick thoughts. I saw this film so late as it was another one of the BIFA awards movies my cinema was playing.
-Joe
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