Orion Lee and John Magaro gave awards-worthy performances in Kelly Reichardt’s overlooked moral fable/bovine heist thriller.
He’s a gentle man in a hard world.
One crucial ingredient, though, is milk.
Credit: A24
Then Chief Factor tastes Cookie’s cake.
What would have happened to First Cow’s box office grosses?
is certainly the 50 trillionth most important counterfactual question about COVID-19.
And general critical accolades turnedFirst Cowinto a must-watch when it finally debuted on VOD in the summertime.
Still, Reichardt’s famously gradual filmmaking style (I refuse to call it slow!!)
inspires awe on the big screen.
I wonder if the measured pace turned off even some adventurous viewers at home.
The story takes several left turns, including a prologue flashforward (hi,Alia Shawkat!)
and the near-wordless depiction of the central friendship.
First Cowis also much funnier than Reichardt’s first Western masterpiece, the drama-of-dehydration wagon-train sadventureMeek’s Cutoff.
The leads make a splendid odd couple, especially as their modestly devious plot spins beyond their control.
