First Cow (2019, dir: Kelly Reichardt)

[sevendaughters]

...which is actually coming out in UK cinemas now for reasons I can't for the life of me figure out.



I think is coming to MUBI (heh heh heh) soon too in case you're scared of getting the virus. Anyway, I thought this was a nice piece of slow-burning Americana that was sure enough about the racist and capitalist formation of the USA, but quite a lot of it was a nice depiction of two guys who like each other getting on quite famously. Bit like Old Joy, if you've seen that, with a smattering of Night Moves (plans getting ballsed up).

[Sebastian Cobb]

Night moves was in their 'perfect failures' section for a while. It did nothing for me but I think they had Rivers of Grass on there at some point as well and that was great (and kind of similar to the Hal Hartley stuff I was just discovering at the same time) and really liked it.

Cheers, will hold out for mubi then.

[sevendaughters]

First half of Night Moves was great, the second half was not at all.

This does move into conventional fare in the back half but more successfully, imo.

[holyzombiejesus]

Night Moves made for one of the most anxious cinema experiences I can remember, really enjoyed it. Love Reichardt although wasn't sure about her last one, possibly due to my falling asleep in the cinema as I was jiggered. Really looking forward to this.

Also, just remembered I've had the William Tyler soundtrack to this for a while now so even better.

[peanutbutter]

I think she's great but in a way that kinda makes it hard for any of her films to feel AMAZING. Think this is probably as close as she's gotten tbh, lovely simple plot that manages to keep ticking along without testing my patience.

Some of the shots were underlit/underexposed to the point I could hardly see anything. There was a couple near the start where the fire exit light was becoming a massive distraction for me by how much harder it made it for my eyes to adjust enough to see what was on screen.


Still don't get why Certain Women wasn't a miniseries, it was at a time where she'd have probably found it easier to get the funding fromt the Sundance channel or something than releasing it theatrically.

[one_sharper]

Also, just remembered I've had the William Tyler soundtrack to this for a while now so even better.

I still haven't seen the film yet (really need to get on that) but I think the soundtrack's sublime.

[dissolute ocelot]

I just watched this; I wasn't expecting action and excitement, but it seems wilfully trivial even for Reichardt. The best of her work (Wendy and Lucy, Meek's Cutoff) manages to build unbearable tension out of inconsequential details, but too much of First Cow just seems inconsequential. Too many historically authentic scenes of rich people having trivial conversations, too much people speaking unsubtitled non-English dialog, a plot with no real surprises. And yet relatively little in the way of baking - no attempt to show the full production process, explain where they got baking soda or flour from, or provide other concrete details. And as peanutbutter says, most of it is set in near-darkness. Of course there are subtexts, but you can have subtexts with lots going on, as well as with nothing going on. But it's not bad, it's just not one of her better films.