Slow West is a 2015 British – New Zealand film about a Scottish lad trying to find his true love in the American Wild West.
5 out of 10 stars. This is so not a real western. But it is watchable and interesting to see how foreigners view the American Wild West.
Throughout the film there are flashbacks to Scotland. Jay Cavendish is the son of Lady Cavendish. His best friend is a poor girl, Rose Ross. Rose’s father works on the land the Cavendish’s provide and they are brutal overseers. When they discover that Jay has been visiting Rose’s home they accuse her of being a whore. Her father starts a fight and it ends up with a dead overseer. Rose and her dad flee Scotland because he’s now wanted for murder. And they go to America. Jay, who is in love with Rose, follows closely behind, but he doesn’t remove the bounty on their heads first, which was pretty dumb.
Immediately upon arriving in the states, Jay is held at gunpoint by former Confederate soldiers shooting Native Americans. Silas Selleck saves him. Silas an Irishman who initially sets out to find Rose and her dad for the bounty, but upon seeing how pretty she is, he falls in love with her too. So he tries keeping Jay alive long enough to meet his dear Rose.
Along the way they encounter hostile Native Americans, murderous immigrants, and Australian bounty hunters including the Payne gang. They’re also caught in a flash flood.
Eventually they reach Rose and her dad, but after another bounty hunter and the Payne gang.
5 out of 10 stars. I considered the ending happy (Jay dies but Rose lives happily ever after with Silas), but the scenery looked nothing like the American West. It was also very British which means sloooooow.
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