Meek’s Cutoff

The pacing of director Kelly Reichardt’s bleak tale of a wagon train crossing the Oregon trail in 1845 is slower than molasses in winter, but give it a chance. It’s so worth it. The story follows the families as they follow a grizzled trail master whose reputation (and boasting) is a lot more impressive than his actual knowledge. It isn’t too long before the families realize they’re lost, almost out of food and about to die of thirst. They’re also in the middle of nowhere with no option except to plod on and hope there’s food or at least water over the horizon. Michelle Williams stars as the wife of one of the families in the wagon train, and her performance alone is worth buying the movie.