First Cow

Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow is such a nice change of pace – a calm, reflective, and overall wholesome movie that immerses you into the sights, sounds and the smells of lost memory. It will absolutely be too slow and boring for general audiences, but for those familiar with Reichardt’s work, or others who just want a break from all of the noise in the world, First Cow should prove to be a welcoming quiet. And there’s an adorable cow to boot.

The narrative follows a cook, nicknamed “Cookie” (John Magaro) who’s traveling with fur trappers through Oregon, eventually arriving at a Fort settlement. Once there, he befriends a Chinese immigrant named King Lu (Orion Lee) who he’s met in his travels. Together the two dream of making money with their minuscule means, and that dream takes a turn for good fortune in a British Chief’s dairy cow. Every night while Chief Factor (Toby Jones) and his household sleeps, Cookie and Lu milk the cow and make oil cakes from the dairy that they sell everyday at the fort. They begin to save their money and hope to open a hotel with a bakery somewhere in California.

The optimism of prosperity drives the film forward at the speed of of rising dough, and watching this movie is like the comfort of the aroma over a fire. The first-two thirds keep this pace, with the final act giving the film a bit of conflict and suspense. I’m not sure if I welcomed that suspense, as I was enjoying my time by the fire. Also, I found that the slow pace didn’t mesh as well with the more plot oriented conclusion. Though the actual ending, which clearly ties to the beginning of the film, rang true for me. It’s almost as if Reichardt knew that any sort of shown violence would be beneath the movie, and she’s right.

The performances by Magaro and Lee become part of the film’s fabric. Magaro’s accent in particular lends to the movie’s overall tranquility. I also loved Toby Jones, whose line “I taste London in this cake” could not be a better example of the film’s sweetness. The cinematography by Christopher Blauvelt is like looking a photograph that will be discarded as though they never existed. The music by William Tyler underscores with the right mount of subtlety. And the Cow is pretty good too.

For those who watch the trailer of this film and still want to see it, you will get as advertised. Though their should have been more cow.

Grade: B+