Last year at the Tribeca Film Festival I was lucky enough to catch a few screenings, however I was not lucky enough to catch a screening of Slow West. Fortunately I subscribe to Amazon Prime, and sometimes, but not always, Amazon Prime knows whats up. Currently they’re streaming Slow West, so you should check it out if you can.

Slow West, written and directed by John Maclean, is the story of a young man from Scotland looking for his lost love in the old American west. Kodi Smit-McPhee (aka Nightcrawler) stars as the young Scot, Jay Cavendish. Michael Fassbender stars as Silas, the skillful scumbag who inexplicably shows up to take Jay under his wing. And the always awesome Ben Mendelsohn stars as Payne, the leader of gang of gunslingers tracking them down.

The stars alone should sell the movie for anyone. Three amazing actors, who bring it hard in whatever they do, unsurprisingly bring their A-game to this surprisingly charming yet dark tale that takes place in a gorgeous Western landscape.

Slow West is littered with beautiful shots and dark moments that take you by surprise. It charms you with it’s characters then reminds you of the harsh reality that was the old west.

The movie comes in at a little under 90 minutes so it’s definitely worth a quick watch, my only nitpick would be that I want a little more Mendelsohn.

Great performances and story with twist of charm and brutality along with fantastic cinematography and minimal time commitment made me give Slow West…

4/5 Stars