• I feel much better about it with a second visit. Reichardt’s approach is minimal but intelligent and nuanced. She’s capturing a snapshot in these 3 (or 4 if you count Stewart)’s lives—these are people, women, in the “middle” so to speak.
  • Another tale set in the Northwest where setting (train to open, mountains, ranch, native americans in mall in Billings), are very much a character in the film
  • Patience and dedramatizing big moments
  • The 16mm graininess works with this approach as well
  • Tales of women- Jared Harris’ character ignores Dern for months and then listens when a male lawyer tells him the same thing, in the scene with Michelle Williams the old man with the sandstone listens and talks through her to Williams’ husband. “Your wife works for you?” (though it’s the opposite)- She smokes and is clearly putting up with a lot
  • Gorgeous shot of tree line reflected off of Williams’ face in the car window
  • very rich characterizations-  these characters list and breathe
  • 3rd collaboration of Williams and Reichardt—meek’s cutoff and wendy and lucy
  • There’s neorealism here- just like her previous work- I love that she show the Gladstone (and Lily Gladstone is the best performance here and her and Stewart’s story the best of the 3 anthology stories that are loosely connected) character going back to work after her meeting—cleaning horse stalls
  • Laura Dern works at a rival firm to Kristen Stewart in Livingston—Gladstone- while looking for Stewart runs past her- no words spoken… and Dern is sleeping with Michelle Williams husband but those two women never meet
  • The big scene with Gladstone and Stewart is so awkward, realistic and perfect. Neither actress flinches
  • The film holds on many scenes and moments past the point of comfort in a 106 minute film- and this is a good thing
  • Recommend but not in my top 10 of 2016