Slow West

John Maclean’s directorial debut, Slow West follows Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Jay Cavendish as he embarks on a quest to reunite with the woman he loves (Caren Pistorius) and reluctantly accepts assistance from a grizzled outlaw named Silas (Michael Fassbender). Slow West, true to its title, does progress at a decidedly deliberate pace that requires patience from the viewer, with the hands-off atmosphere perpetuated by an initial lack of compelling, sympathetic characters. (Smit-McPhee, though quite good here, doesn’t entirely have the charisma to carry the movie on his slender back.) It’s only as Maclean begins developing Fassbender’s taciturn Silas that Slow West becomes more and more engrossing, with the growing inclusion of compelling sequences – eg Jay and Silas find themselves caught up in a robbery – perpetuating the movie’s increasingly involving vibe. (It’s worth noting, however, that there are a few interludes here that fall relatively flat, with the most cogent example of this Jay’s encounter with a shifty clergyman.) The burgeoning bond between Smit-McPhee and Fassbender’s respective characters ensures that one can’t help but root for their success, and it’s clear, too, that the action-packed finale packs quite a visceral punch due to the protagonists’ tremendous appeal – which finally confirms Slow West‘s place as a well-crafted debut from an exceedingly promising filmmaker.

***1/2 out of ****