First Cow

Starring: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Rene Auberjonois, Scott Shepherd
Directed by: Kelly Reichardt
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Western
2020

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In the West, a cook (John Magaro) and an immigrant (Orion Lee) team up to build their fortune, which starts from them stealing milk from a cow at night.

Review:

Tim: I'd heard a ton of great things about Kelly Reichardt's First Cow and finally found the time to watch it. I've seen Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy, which I thought was a decent but flawed movie. That one featured a great performance by Michelle Williams, but the movie itself never lived up to the bar she sets. I was interested in seeing another of Reichardt's films.

Now that I've seen two, I certainly have a sense of Reichardt's approach. She's definitely an Independent film maker, pursuing a more artistic route. Her movies are quiet and contemplative, far more focused on character and tone than on movement or momentum. I found First Cow to be two things- an occasionally beautiful meditation on two outcasts struggling for survival in the West, and a movie that was overrated by critics. In the end, I liked the movie, but I'm surprised that so many critics claimed to love it.

Let's start with the positives. I loved the friendship between the two main characters, Cookie and King-Lu. In Hollywood, we so rarely get honest stories about genuine friendship between men. I find it interesting that a woman directed this movie (but maybe not surprising) and spends so much time letting these two characters develop. That's one of the biggest takeaways from this film- I truly enjoyed getting to know these characters and watching their friendship develop over the course of the movie. It helps that John Magaro and Orion Lee give tremendous performances. I've seen Magaro in three other films, but he never really registered for me. They were all small supporting roles, easily overlooked within the context of the larger movies. That might have been a mistake, because Magaro is brilliant in this film. His Cookie is a fascinating character- a talented cook, but a man who feels like he's in the wrong place. He doesn't belong in the West, but he relentlessly moves forward, even though he's continually out of his element with "manly" hunters and explorers. I found the contrast between him and the groups he had to associate with fascinating. I'm not sure if Reichardt intended to comment on toxic masculinity, but that was one of my takeaways. He is kind and caring in a world where that is viewed as a weakness, so the other characters discount him. Orion Lee gives an outstanding performance, too. I was amazed at how quickly I grew to like his character. Lee gives perhaps the best performance of the film- he feels so authentic. I just believed everything he did on screen. Lee's character is likewise an outcast- a Chinese immigrant living in a place that devalues and demeans him. Again, his character doesn't "belong" in this place, but he courageously fights to make a place for himself regardless. His story is beautiful, especially when he partners up with Cookie. Magaro and Lee work wonders together in small, subtle ways. These two men are influenced by the world around them, so there's not a lot of hugging and emoting. But, in quiet, small ways, they show their love and care for each other. That relationship is what makes this movie worthwhile.

Toby Jones adds a great supporting performance. Honestly, every single time I see Jones, I'm happy. He is one of those actors that makes everything he's in better. He does that here. The film also features Rene Auberjunois in one of his final films. As you'd expect, he adds to the film in his role. The rest of the supporting cast is good, but none really rise beyond the supporting ranks.

While I've been clear in my praise so far, I believe there are things that hold this movie back from being even better. I know this is a common complaint for movies like this, but it's incredibly slow. That actually didn't bother me for the first hour plus. But, the lingering meditation on nearly everything eventually wears me down. There's not enough momentum. Yes, the scenes of stealing the milk at night were appropriately tense, but the movie starts to plateau and drag on. I honestly think a good 15-20 minutes needed to be cut. This might have sacrificed some of its artistic beauty, but it would have made for a more compelling story. I loved the characters, but I only liked the story they were involved in. It became harder and harder to focus as the movie went on.

As an example of all this, this movie was nominated for a ton of awards. However, it won very few. The movie didn't receive a single Academy Award nomination. I think that was the right call, based on the quality of Reichardt's film. What's frustrating to me is that Magaro and Lee both gave award-worthy performances in this movie. However, Reichardt's movie is so intent on realizing her vision that it doesn't deliver an entertaining enough story. The vehicle is the issue and two great performances were mostly overlooked. That's frustrating to me- that all the elements were in place for a great movie to emerge, but Reichardt can't quite coax it all together. First Cow is a good movie, but it's no where near the top 10 of 2020, which is the least strong year at the movies, perhaps ever (thanks, stupid Covid). Now, I don't want to criticize this movie too much. It's a good film and it's an improvement over Wendy and Lucy. But, it definitely feels like Reichardt has serious talent and this movie could have been even better.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Wendy and Lucy, Liberal Arts, The Finest Hours