East of the Mountains (2021) User Reviews

Just the right touch

[wsherrett-677-936271 · 7/10 · 2 October 2021]

This film belongs to the group of elegiac journeys taken by old (mostly) men nearing death, and attempting to reconnect with their past, family, and unresolved issues. If you liked Alexander Payne's "Nebraska," or David Lynch's "The Straight Story," you will probably like this movie. It features everything you could hope for in this genre, gorgeous cinematography, first-rate acting, a perfect musical soundtrack, and a story that is just complex enough to avoid being predictable, but I found satisfying.

Just as an aside, Tom Skerritt is old enough to have served in the Korean war, as his character reveals, but the story could also be the final chapter in the life of Duke Forrest from the 1970 film, M. A. S. H.

Last Chapter of Life

[jeroduptown · 5/10 · 13 January 2022]

He's terminally ill and decides to take his own life back where he grew up. He takes only his dog - but when he's forced to seek help from a local vet, he gets insight into more about what the end of his life could be. I see you Mira Sorvino.

Slow yet thought provoking.

[pdbodyshop · 6/10 · 14 August 2022]

Acting is good and absolutely loved the beautiful scenery. IMO it is very much like a HM movie with better acting. A much shorter version could have been done with similar results.

A story to feel

[Gordon-11 · 26 September 2021]

This is a story to feel. The pace is slow, but it gives the time and space for viewers to feel the character's predicament.

Watchable, but not enough.

[bombersflyup · 4/10 · 25 September 2021]

East of the Mountains is competently done, the story narrow.

It's engaging and partially evoking, it just doesn't really hit home. The acting's fine, wasteful scenes though, including the flashbacks that don't add anything.

A Disappointment

[ikemerley · 2/10 · 25 September 2021]

I read good reviews of this movie, but was disappointed. The characters didn't have much depth, it was very slow, and the flashback scenes failed to drive the narrative. In the end, the lead character's change of heart was too abrupt and didn't carry the emotional weight it should have.

Warning: Not if you're sensitive or depressed!

[mcshane365 · 1/10 · 19 January 2023]

I normally like Skerritt. I have no idea why he chose to produce & star in this depression fest. There are no redeeming features, no uplifting moments, no heartwarming scenes, no redemption.

SPOILERS GALORE!

The main character Skerritt is dying of cancer. We open the scene with him making a lame attempt at suicide with a shotgun leaving his dog at the bottom of the stairs. He bails & meets his lovely sweet daughter for dinner. Treats her like dirt, won't talk to her or engage with her & walks out with her in tears saying how much she misses him & wants to spend time with him. Nice guy.

Goes on a road trip with his lovely dog, picked up by 2 lovely people he doesn't deserve. Dog gets attacked. Walks out of the wilderness & gets picked up by a lovely man who takes him to a lovely vet. Skerritt can barely bring himself to smile or utter thanks so he doesn't. Having fun so far?

Vet is lovely, fixes the dog up, buys him dinner, lets him sleep over, gives him breakfast. Skerritt can barely bring himself to smile but just barely audibly manages a grumpy thanks.

Skerritt goes to visit his estranged brother. I'd say the brother got off lightly. But here we learn that Skerritt is even more of a selfish moron than we thought. He left his brother pretty poorly off caring for their father alone & he didn't even bother to help him out or come to the old man's funeral. What a guy! He was a cardiac surgeon & he was too busy. Like we can all relate to that as to why he's a Class A horror.

Gets the vet to phone his daughter to pick up the dog. Goes after another moron who stole his shotgun & leaves it on his brother's porch. Wow, what a generous gesture of kindness & appeal for forgiveness.

Daughter shows up, picks up the dog & the grumpy old dad & drives them home.

Honestly that was it.

I have no clue why anyone without a death wish would want to sit through this. If you're hoping for some kind of redemption moment, don't bother, I just saved you an hour & a half.

Meh

[windsorenquirer · 1/10 · 25 September 2021]

Not my cup of coffee, too slow and boring, nothing much was going on, I gave up after an hour.

A movie with heart

[johnironbear · 8/10 · 27 September 2021]

I've been where the protagonist of this movie is at.. from loosing his wife to having terminal cancer (which thanks to the grace of God I was healed from), so I understand better than most what his path was like and what he was thinking.

I also understand the low reviews because most of us do not, or cannot relate to this kind of story because they're not old enough to have experienced loss or to have had a disease that may claim your life, but those reviews do not reflect the beauty, or the pain of what Tom Skeritt's character was experiencing, and which was very well expressed due to his extraordinary acting.

LIfe is not easy my friends, as you will some day see, nor is it a movie, it is real, and it is to be experienced in all of it's fullness and beauty, which ironically includes the pain and suffering, and this beautiful film expresses that with wonderful acting and lovely cinematography that I think anyone with a heart and compassion will love.

Nothing to see here

[Moviedog26 · 1/10 · 26 September 2021]

One of the most boring movies I tried to watch but could not finish because I had something better to do.

I do not recommend wasting your time.

Read better

[ks-60500 · 3/10 · 13 October 2021]

I feel not necessary to make a movie sometimes, this is typically a wrong decision. Movie is so boring as none of the part need to put on scene. Reading a book is better.

Pretty insipid

[flashfluidimdb · 3/10 · 9 October 2021]

There's nothing in this movie that would make you want to watch more of it. I'd would expect that when the main character was dying of cancer you'll get a classic finding-the-meaning-of-life-during-a-last-trip kind of movie.

The main problem might be that the novel it is based on is basically about how the character perceive things. It happens all in the head of the character. This kind of novels turn out ot be quite bad for basing movies on.

A good thing? With 80+ min it's short. And you might also like the performance of the actors. Mira Sorvino has a rather minor role in it, though.

Beautiful rubbish

[adamj-48679 · 3/10 · 2 October 2021]

So slow, so boring and the ending is what the, high ratings are all false.

The Poor Dog

[VanBooter · 1/10 · 3 December 2021]

How he got roped into playing a part in this borefest is beyond my understanding, maybe there was a promise of as much as you can eat tasty treats. Sad thing is its now on his/her résumé.

I tried oh how I tried to watch it all but to be honest my interest started to wane with the end it all gun scene. If he had gone through with it then it would of helped us all out.

I could not care one jot about his character and the issues he was facing, the storyline was weak and oh so slow, almost to the point you could predict each scene between short naps.

Best avoided unless you are a glutton for punishment.

So very moving.

[durham100 · 8/10 · 26 September 2021]

I think you have to have reached a certain point in life or exeperienced milestones to fully appreciate this wonderful film. Loss and/or regret are such a big part of this experience. It is so understated and wonderfully acted by all it is a real emotive experience. Every performance is terrific, Skerritt is superb. The photography and music are perfect. Rex steals the first twenty minutes or so though! I have just watched this and I know I will be thinking about it tomorrow.

It was very very slow

[Neptune165 · 2/10 · 13 November 2021]

Bad acting, tragic story about the lone strong man myth that destroys more than it brings. A slow, moody character. There's not much conflict. Nothing Happened herer he just talk and the next moment fell in sleep. That's all.

There are added scenes that added nothing to the story

[Neptune165 · 2/10 · 13 November 2021]

The dialog is ultra simple. The dialog's delivery is slow and monotonous the majority of the time. Trying to figure what this movie was all about. Was it about a man and his dog? Nope. A love story? Nope. Family? Nope. A cranky, morose old man? Yep.

Not my cup of tea

[jaggcmi-42756 · 4/10 · 19 February 2022]

This just plodded on. Sorry but that dead horse had been sufficiently flogged at the 45 minute point. No need to go any further. And so it goes. Have I hit 150 characters yet?

Stupid script writing

[emanuelusa2008 · 3/10 · 28 September 2022]

This movie looks good, but in fact suffers from some really bad writing. I could spoil it for you, but let's just say that the way some of the scenes are wrote are just completely devoid of reality. If you can get over that kind of stuff you may enjoy the movie. This movie looks good, but in fact suffers from some really bad writing. I could spoil it for you, but let's just say that the way some of the scenes are wrote are just completely devoid of reality. If you can get over that kind of stuff you may enjoy the movie. This movie looks good, but in fact suffers from some really bad writing. I could spoil it for you, but let's just say that the way some of the scenes are wrote are just completely devoid of reality. If you can get over that kind of stuff you may enjoy the movie.

Naah!

[abrahamkalsh · 1/10 · 3 February 2023]

One of the worst movies I ever watched no story no redemption it's like watching an advertisement the same vibe somehow I don't recommend watching this at all. It's a waste of time there's a lot of movie that you can enjoy while you're bored. But I have to give them credit specially for the main character because the acting was good he played his role perfectly, but if there is a story, it's gonna be much more enjoyable at least a story there's a lot of flashback that don't add up and you don't feel attached to it. Long story short one of the worst movie I had in a while, and if you really bored, and you don't have something to watch either way don't watch it because you gonna feel frustrated that you wasted your time.

Beautiful

[fcalonso-53793 · 9/10 · 28 September 2021]

Amazing, moving, huge interpretation by Tom Skerritt. This movie shows how it is still possible to make simple but at the same time extremely beautiful movies. By the way, I wished trailers stopped trying to make every single movie look like a Disney or Bourne Identity adventure. A trailer for this one should just show the calm, the tranquility, the relaxing and moving scenes and music....

This movie SUCKS

[ibord-52594 · 1/10 · 7 June 2022]

Honestly this movie is terrible, if you want to watch, have fun wasting an hour and a half with your life. So pointless. It's like if you met a boring person with a boring personality and boring hobbies and threw them in a world with less personality. The actors besides the protagonist feel like fiver actors that the producers paid 2 dollars for. No joy. Also where did the writers for this movie get the idea for this. "Yeah, let's just make the most boring, slow, pasty, flaccid world/movie for this old guy with cancer and he just straight wants to die. I bet the critics will find some meaningless theme that we had no intention of having a theme at all." As critics always seem to find a pointless meaning within the most boring movie you've ever seen. Critics for these kind of movies are like the people you see at restaurants who only order ranch for their dipping sauce for their fries. You're just like "oh my god look at this incredibly annoying person who just hates their job and their life and are not funny and are not as cool as I am and also SUCK. Bad experience. Not enjoyable and not cool and 0/10 and sucks and also is boring.

Well done

[nwsurfrider · 8/10 · 28 September 2021]

Perfectly cast, Skerritt proves he has plenty in the tank to deliver a nuanced performance set against the magnificent backdrop of the Eastern Washington wilderness. Director SJ Chiro doesn't waste a frame, and keeps the delicate story moving. It really reminds me of 'Nomadland', a story in the same vain and beautifully shot cinematography. It's not everyone's thing, but I found the idea and story compelling, and really thought Skerritt was at his best that I've ever seen.

Powerful and beautiful

[spiritedgrace · 10/10 · 26 September 2021]

Tom Skerritt pulls off a masterpiece of acting in this beautiful film. We were glued to it from start to finish. If you're looking for an action film, this isn't it. This is a powerful and meaningful film with beautiful cinematography. It shines.

I was glued to this piece of skilled film making - a beautiful adventure

[philosoph-03178 · 8/10 · 25 September 2021]

Filming was beautiful; camera work great; it takes a skilled director to keep you waiting for what happens next when it's done in such an understated manner. Multilayered. Emotionally moving.