--- title: "Slow West: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/slow-west/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/slow-west" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 27 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Slow West (2015): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 27 reviews: 23 positive, 1 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics like Slow West, and they like it for the same things. John Maclean’s debut is praised as lean and economical, a Western told with dry humour and sudden violence, and the praise settles on Robbie Ryan’s cinematography and the pairing of Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Several reviews single out the climactic shootout as the film’s strongest passage, and many describe it as a fable, with its outsider’s view of the frontier counted as a virtue. The reservations are about pace and substance. Even admirers note a meandering, episodic structure and a whimsy that does not always land, with the flashbacks and narration mentioned as weak points. The spread is narrow: a broad band of approval and three outright dissenters. Slant Magazine calls it a photogenic trifle without moral depth, the Financial Times says the early scenes crawl before conflict is added late, and IndieWire finds its makeover of the genre unsatisfying. ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 June 2015. Slow West is a work of rare purity, directness and concision that easily stands comparison with recent great Westerns; every word, picture and action matters in this tremendous film. Its lyric quality and strong performances, especially from Kodi Smit-McPhee and Michael Fassbender, are singled out. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/slow-west-film-review-a-work-of-rare-purity-directness-and-concision-10347048.html) ## Film Comment — Jonathan Romney Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). The critic highlights the film's clipped, economical neo-Western style as a meta take on genre conventions, powered by non-sequiturs, dry comic sensibility and terse execution. Standout praise goes to the lush, strange visuals from DP Robbie Ryan and the editors' distinctive abrupt rhythm. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/film-of-the-week-slow-west/) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 25 June 2015. John Maclean's debut is a revelation, a beautifully written mini-epic combining lyricism, dry humour and violence with real tenderness. The idiosyncratic treatment of familiar Western elements and offbeat perspectives stand out. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/slow-west-film-review-john-maclean-s-miniepic-combines-lyricism-humour-and-violence-10346338.html) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 3/4/4. 25 June 2015. Maclean's debut is a gratifyingly economical neo-western that wears its influences lightly while feeling original. It benefits from strong performances, especially Fassbender, and assured technical craft in its landscapes and violence. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/slow-west) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2015. Festival review. Maclean's lean, lyrical debut is an impressive coming-of-age western set in the bloody American frontier, distinguished by its New Zealand locations and Fassbender's grizzled gun-for-hire. It blends violence and immigrant perspectives in a stylish narrative. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/slow-west/5082242.article) ## Time Out — David Ehrlich Rating 4/5. 19 May 2015. This contemplative, whimsical western builds to a spectacularly violent finale and treats the frontier as a mythic space filtered through a naive hero's romantic delusions. Robbie Ryan's cinematography stands out for its dreamy quality. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/slow-west) ## Los Angeles Times — Gary Goldstein Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2015. The review calls it a surprisingly sly tale of passion, greed and survival with an often dreamlike vibe and impressive debut by writer-director John Maclean. It praises the stunning cinematography by Robbie Ryan amid the rough-and-tumble episodes on the frontier. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-slow-west-review-20150515-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Brian Tallerico Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2015. Festival review. The critic finds 'Slow West' a unique Western that lives up to its title with a glacial pace but delivers gorgeous visuals and a standout set piece. It features strong performances from Kodi Smit-McPhee and Michael Fassbender in an odd, genre-referential film with lyrical and black comic elements. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/sundance/sundance-2015-nasty-baby-slow-west-strangerland-ten-thousand-saints) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B-. 14 May 2015. The critic praises the director's ability to tell a terrific yarn and the climactic shootout's balance of critique and action, but faults the meandering structure and failure to find a compelling context for its ideas about the West. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/michael-fassbender-is-a-bounty-hunter-on-a-mission-in-t-1798183788) ## The Guardian — Mark Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 June 2015. Maclean strikes gold with a haunting mix of genres in this blackly comic oddity that balances the western and the musical. The performances are terrific and the gallows humour swerves from slapstick to situation comedy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/28/slow-west-review-mark-kermode) ## The Hollywood Reporter — THR Staff Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2015. Festival review. The critic finds it a wholly enjoyable buddy Western punctuated by black humor, praising Fassbender's reliable charisma and the screenplay's keen observations on the naive youth and the West. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/slow-west-sundance-review-766737/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 11 May 2015. The critic praises the lean fable quality of the short film and its two tremendous set pieces, while noting the director's debut struggles somewhat with whimsy. It singles out the reckoning of the dead in the aftermath of the shoot-out as a strong element. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/05/18/distant-emotions) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 May 2015. The review describes the film as a surreal frontier fable and absurdist deconstruction of classic Hollywood westerns with a sardonic 21st-century view of frontier mythology. It highlights the unlikely traveling companions and the dreamlike perspective embodied by a lone researcher character. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/15/movies/review-slow-west-a-wry-twist-on-classic-frontier-fables.html) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 13 February 2015. Festival review. The critic notes a dark river of fatalism beneath the beautifully photographed vistas in this off-center Western with Coen-esque flavor in its sly intelligence, bleak humor and unsettling violence. It highlights the surreal sense of dislocation matched to the protagonist's journey. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/film-review-slow-west-1201433922/) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2015. The critic describes the film as a kind of mess but with too much good stuff to ignore, praising the performances of Fassbender and Smit-McPhee, the cinematography, and the unpredictable climactic gunfight while noting its absurdist, episodic qualities. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2015/01/sundance-fassbender-does-eastwood-in-slow-west.html) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 25 June 2015. The film takes time to warm to its themes with early scenes where grass can almost literally be watched growing, but the cinematography is ravishing. Maclean’s vision starts to look like a PC Peaceable Kingdom into which late token conflicts are pitched. [Read the review](https://www.ft.com/content/ca5a2ec8-1b28-11e5-a130-2e7db721f996) ## IndieWire — Anisha Jhaveri Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 2015. Festival review. The critic calls the film an unsatisfying makeover of the American Western, finding its approach to the genre and characters lacking in satisfaction. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/sundance-review-michael-fassbender-vehicle-slow-west-gives-the-american-western-an-unsatisfying-makeover-65632/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 10 May 2015. The critic calls it a photogenic trifle and a self-consciously cool reorientation of the western as silly symphony, criticizing its fussy artifice, programmatic structure, and lack of genuine substance or moral depth. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/slow-west/) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating B+. 14 May 2015. The critic calls the film a terrific little parable and strong debut worth treasuring, praising its unconventional European perspective, sharp wit, absurdist violence, and fairy-tale qualities. It singles out the solid cast performances and the memorable, playful score alongside the gorgeous visuals. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-slow-west-starring-michael-fassbender-kodi-smit-mcphee-ben-mendelsohn-is-worth-treasuring-20150514/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 April 2015. Festival review. The critic describes the film as a distinctive Western yarn that is part boy's own adventure, part fable, and part buddy comedy, noting its mythic landscapes and black humour that underscores the brutality of the wilderness. It singles out the contrasts in the narrative and the way comedy is coated in tragedy. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/slow-west-2015-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## HeyUGuys — Stefan Pape Rating 4/5. 22 June 2015. The critic praises the film as a compelling and emotionally rich debut with remarkable pacing, highlighting the screenplay's poetic quality and fairy-tale elements blended with realism. It singles out the strong cast, particularly Fassbender and Mendelsohn, for elevating the unconventional Western. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/slow-west-review/) ## NME — Nick Levine Rating 4/5. 20 June 2015. The critic calls it an impressive debut that offers a fresh and distinctive take on the western genre. Praise centers on the gripping depiction of a brutally beautiful Colorado populated by bounty hunters, along with flashes of surreal humour. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews-various-artists-16136-313818) ## The Skinny — Jamie Dunn Rating 4/5. 22 June 2015. The review praises the steely confidence of Maclean’s debut as a lyrical fairytale with a bracing outsider’s view that strips away pioneering myths. It singles out the inventive imagery from cinematographer Robbie Ryan and poetic dialogue for particular praise. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/slow-west) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B. 26 January 2015. Festival review. The critic finds it a smart, meta-western that appreciates the wonderful and terrible aspects of the Old West, though the narrative drags at times. Praises the dark comedy and visual style. [Read the review](https://collider.com/slow-west-review-sundance-2015/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2015. Festival review. The critic praises the film's concise storytelling, gorgeous visuals, strong performances especially Fassbender, and humor, but notes issues with flashbacks, narration, and plot structure. Overall positive but with flaws. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/05/sundance-film-review-slow-west/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 15 May 2015. The critic finds this understated, minor-key Western an offbeat and droll oater that simultaneously mythologizes and de-mythologizes the American West through its minimal narrative and gorgeous cinematography. Fassbender and Smit-McPhee are singled out for their well-matched performances amid the film's surprising moments of beauty and violence. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/slow-west-review-michael-fassbender-kodi-smit-mcphee-ben-mendelsohn/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 3/5. 24 June 2015. The review finds the Old West rendered as an ethereal dreamland with exotic visuals and a strong Fassbender performance, but notes that substance falls short of the high style. The journey feels almost static, with idealism providing heart yet frustrating progress. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a653957/slow-west-review-michael-fassbender-leads-an-ethereal-western/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/slow-west.md