Meek's Cutoff

Set in 1845, Meek's Cutoff follows three pioneer families who hire the trapper Stephen Meek to lead them across the Oregon high desert. Claiming knowledge of a shortcut, Meek takes the wagons off the established trail, and the group soon finds itself lost in arid, unforgiving country with dwindling food and water. As the journey stalls, trust in the guide erodes and the families divide over how to proceed. Emily Tetherow, skeptical of Meek from the outset, urges the group to put its faith in a Native American man they have taken into their company, a decision that leaves the settlers split between two uncertain paths. The film is based on a real episode from the settlement of the American West.

Kelly Reichardt directed, working from a screenplay by Jonathan Raymond, with Elizabeth Cuthrell, Neil Kopp and Anish Savjani producing. Michelle Williams plays Emily, Bruce Greenwood is Meek, and Will Patton, Zoe Kazan, Paul Dano and Shirley Henderson appear as members of the families. The film sits between Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy and Night Moves in her filmography.

On TMDB the film holds a 6.5 rating from 317 votes, while its critics' rating stands at 7.6 from 134 reviews, a gap suggesting that reviewers responded to it more strongly than the general audience did.