The Donner Party

Donner Party, The (2009)

** (out of 4)

Disappointing telling of the now infamous Donner Party, a group of people traveling from Missouri to California but along their journey they decide to try a short-cut but this leads them into the Sierra Mountains where they become trapped by the snow. Our film starts off with them running out of food so a group of people try to walk away from the camp in hopes of finding safety but soon their chances of survival become even slimmer so they must resort to cannibalism. THE DONNER PARTY is a low-budget film that sadly never really gets anything right. This movie is far from being horrible but there's no denying that it's a major disappointment as the screenplay and direction just aren't what's needed for the material. The problem with the story itself is that there's never any real connection to any of the characters. There's no denying that what they're going through is quite depressing but this is only true because we know the real story. The "story" being told on the screen just never really grabs your attention and it certainly never pulls you into any sort of drama. There's not a single character in the film that you really care for and I can't believe the screenplay wouldn't develop them any more. Another problem with the story is that it's just not all that interesting. I think a better story would have been about the actual case involving them setting out, taking the wrong trail and then the winter stuff. Instead, we're given a story of a small party who set out to find help. Again, the screenplay just doesn't make it entertaining. I'd also say that the direction is at fault because there's not a bit of atmosphere throughout the film. This was another disappointment because there's not a single scene where you get to feel as if you're there with the people and that dramatic danger of what the characters are going through is something that never connects with the viewer. Clayne Crawford steals the film in his lead role and Crispin Glover is also pretty good in a very restrained performance. However, at the end of the day the performances aren't enough to make this movie. If you want to know about the Donner Party it's best to check out a book or some other documentary.

This was a low-budget effort to capture the dire straits that the Donner Party got into when they were stranded at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains, running out of food. The most interesting thing about the Donner Party isn't the starving/dying, etc. It is HOW they got into the situation in the first place and the events that led up to the Sierras.

While this is primarily a talking head movie set in a bleak, snowy setting, it doesn't develop the characters that much, so in the end it's not exactly a character drama nor an adventure story. Some of the historical elements of the Donner story are accurate, some are not. Crispin Glover's performance was kind of over the top, while others were better. I'm giving it a 5 because I think shooting an indie movie in the snow isn't an easy feat and many of the locations, wardrobe, etc. Were well done.

The only reason I finished this movie was that I was waiting for it to get better. At one point I paused it and saw there was only 15 minutes left and was so bored I fast-forwarded through the rest.

I expected one of two things, a movie out to entertain through shock value or an American Epic. I got neither. Therein lies the problem; the movie's scope simply isn't grand enough. With all the drama, betrayal, tragedy, desperation, and heartbreak that occurred during these events you'd think that you'd see some of it on screen. I'm no expert on the Donner Party, but as I understand the trip took months just to get to the point the film starts up. Where it proceeds to tell a small 2 week time frame about the hardships of the people who made an attempt at being rescued.

This could have been a sprawling epic of the American Pioneer days on par with 'Dances with Wolves', yet we only get to see the small group and how hungry they are. That's it. We see nothing of what happened to the 30+ people back at the camp. I heard they had to resort to eating leather clothes and bones boiled so many times over they became brittle and edible, none of that made it into the film. If you cut out all of the establishing shots of snow and trees the movie wouldn't have even been an hour long.

Bottom line, read the Wikipedia article, skip the movie.

Director T.J. Martin does history justice as he puts this capable cast through their paces.

Here, Crispin Glover's innate squirmy quirkiness is concealed and re-purposed as duplicity, guile, and scheming.

With limited backdrop and no Hollywood trickery, Martin sets out to tell an uncomfortable tale of impossible choices, selfish agendas, and moral gray areas.

The result is a stark and unforgiving portrayal of the depth of the breakdown of social norms in a desperate wilderness survival situation.

No gimmicks. No stunts. No eye-popping effects.

Just the refreshing gift of good actors bringing characters to life and a director telling a well- written and conceived story.

The film is not based on any true historical fact as far as I could see. Even in the opening, the eventual place the Donner party hoped to get to was written as 'Sutter Fort.' Twice. Most Californians know the fort was Sutter's Fort. Glaring typo from the get go or laziness with regard to historical accuracy. You don't even have to be a Californian to know it is Sutter's Fort because the site is mentioned in grade school textbooks.

The rescue party consisted of much fewer members than were portrayed. The cannibalism occurred in the Donner camp and it was only as a very last resort and the 'victim' was already dead from exposure and starvation.

The film would have been much better if the director had focused on the powerful stories of the survivors instead of resorting to a sensationalistic cannibalism tale. There was so much more to this drama than starving humans compromising all they believed in by eating human flesh.

I could not even watch the entire film because it was so dreadful.