A positive surprise. At first the film feels that it doesnt know where it goes and shows a VERY detailed introduction of its two protagonists. But detail is the key word for this newest feature by Kelly Reichardt. The visuals are extremely detailed and so are the characters in general. We get a lot of information just by watching them in their daily lives and slowly the plot thickens and has some unexpected turns. Kelly Reichardt really did a fantastic job telling that story. She proves a fantastic eye for visuality, showing off some fantastic nature shots that really add a lot to the atmosphere of the film. She did everything right with this film, although she might once in a while loses herself a little bit too much in her details. The actors were wisely chosen and the leading roles filled with rather unknown actors who are usually in secondary roles. First of all there is John Magaro who is very subtle and effective. The better performance came from Orion Lee who is extremely charismatic and does a lot with the role given to him. I think he might have a very interesting future. I loved how he handled that role and gave it many different facettes. There is a good supporting performance by Toby Jones who does wonders with his rather one dimensional character. Ewen Bremner is a bit wasted, but not as much as Lily Gladstone which was insulting. Gladstone was brilliant in Reichardt's previous film, and ended up in my Top 5 Supporting Actresses so I was shocked how misused she was in this film. But thats just one of the very few flaws the film that. Another very positive note goes to the score, which is fantastic and as mentioned before the cinematography. Give it a try and try to read as less as possible about it so you have the chance to perfectly soak into it.
Review of First Cow
