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Movies & TV Movies & TV Reviews

>>> Slow West

SLOW WEST Rating: NNNN See listing.

Where to watch: iTunes


John Maclean’s first feature, Slow West is a perfect execution of the western, even as it deconstructs the genre. It’s strange and lyrical, with an imaginative spark that makes the economical narrative feel much, much larger. And it gives Michael Fassbender one of his best roles yet, which is really saying something.

Fassbender plays Silas, a magnetic, enigmatic gunslinger in 1870 Colorado who crosses paths with young Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a young Scot who’s come to America to find the woman he loves (Caren Pistorius). 

Jay, a dreamy kid who’s found himself in a world of backstabbers and rogues, is in over his head, and the collision of reality with his high-minded expectations gives Smit-McPhee and Fassbender plenty to discuss on the trail. 

Maclean surrounds his characters with colour and beauty, even as he steers Slow West into some very dark places. This is a hell of a debut.

See our John Maclean feature here.

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