Meek's Cutoff

Much as we admire Reichardt’s previous films, there’s no getting around the pretentiousness of her latest, a drab-looking Western set on the Oregon Trail in 1845. A group of settlers is lost, led astray by the fatuous ego of one Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood), an inept guide. Yet the film itself feels stranded as well, outfoxed by an overly coy visual design.