How Long Is “Slow West”?

This surreal Western, which expertly mixes deadpan absurdism and sudden shocks of violence, stars Michael Fassbender and Kodi Smit-McPhee as a mismatched duo making their way through the 19th century American frontier. Smit-McPhee plays Jay Cavendish, a young Scottish noble who travels to the U.S. in search of his true love Rose (Caren Pistorius). Fassbender plays Silas Selleck, a taciturn bounty hunter in the mold of Clint Eastwood's iconic Man With No Name, who offers to act as Jay's guide on his journey. What Jay doesn't realize, however, is that Rose and her father (Rory McCann) are wanted for murder, and Silas is using the lovesick man as a means to capture his prey. Slow West marks the feature-film debut of director John Maclean, who also wrote the screenplay.