Montana Story

Between its sweeping wide shots of the landscape and its intimate look into family relationships riddled with trauma, "Montana Story" is a force to be reckoned with. A love story to Montana, a love story to family and all its complications - do yourself a favor and check it out!

I love the Copper Pit scene. The conversation between the sister and the Indian boy while he drives her back deeply moved me. The landscape is as expected gorgeous. The scar on the surface is even more unforgettable.

I had two good reasons to want to see this movie. Back a few years ago we all spent the month of June on vacation in Montana, a beautiful state. And second I love Haley Lu Richardson, she is a really good actress and always a joy to watch. Here she is 25-yr-old Erin who disappeared seven years earlier after some bad family drama. Her half-brother is played by Owen Teague as 22-yr-old Cal (named after Cal Ripkin Jr.). Interestingly both actors were the same ages as their characters during filming.

So their dad, a high-powered lawyer and a tough, seemingly too tough, disciplinarian had a stroke and now is in hospice care, in a coma, barely being kept alive. Both moms are dead and the siblings come for what will likely be the last visit. We can see all the relationships are strained, watching we gradually learn all the things that transpired and led Erin to flee to upstate New York without telling any family members.

This is not a movie for fans of action movies, there is no action. It is a family drama and it plays out very authentically and very well. Of course cinematography takes ample advantage of the scenery, the mountains are grand.

At home on DVD from our public library, we enjoyed the movie.

Great premise and wonderfully shot. The acting, however, I found stilted and wooden. I fully expected to ugly-cry throughout this story but I was unable to connect with the primary characters.

The supporting cast was strong and, again, the cinematography was fantastic. The script could have done with far less exposition and the primary backstory would have been better delivered through a series of flashbacks.

In other words, please don't tell me what happened unless the way you are going to tell me is better than the way you could show me. In this case Owen Teague's delivery fell quite flat.

Beautiful shots of big sky country and Asivak Koostachin was absolutely stellar.

If you can look past the glacial pacing and really see what's being presented on the screen, Montana Story is a thoroughly rewarding film.

The family drama is delivered in such a restrained, satisfying way. Exposition and backstory is gradually hinted at until these fully realised characters finally reach their traumatic breaking point and the emotional payoff finally comes spilling out.

The achievement of acting in this film cannot be overstated. Haley Lu Richardson, especially, delivers her lines with such tact and in a way that makes her character a living, breathing person.

Some very intriguing themes are explored through parallel presentation that provoke thought as to what gives a life inherent meaning or value. I'll be thinking about it for a while.

All this praise being said, the pacing really is an issue. Many, many scenes could have been trimmed down or presented a bit differently to give the film a sense of progression that is rarely present. I'd say about 20 minutes could have been cut and all that would have been lost are some repetitive vistas and redundant mundane actions.

Still, when this film is at its high points, it REALLY shines, and I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy a slow-burn western.