Slow West

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2:32

Slow West

R

2015

1h 31m

Western

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

Adventure

Romance

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

132 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A bounty hunter keeps his true motive a secret from the naive Scottish teenager he's offered to serve as bodyguard and guide while the youth searches for his beloved in the 1800s Colorado.

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Critics Consensus

Slow West serves as an impressive calling card for first-time writer-director John M. Maclean -- and offers an inventive treat for fans of the Western.

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David Sims

The Atlantic

Oct 14, 2015

Slow West crescendos into a bravura shootout between all the involved parties, and it's as gorgeous, nihilistic, and brutally sad as the rest of the film.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

Jun 28, 2015

4/5

With its weirdly lyrical portrait of frontier life, this blackly comic oddity balances on the generic knife edge between the western and the musical.

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Geoffrey Macnab

Independent (UK)

Jun 26, 2015

4/5

As the title suggests, Maclean is in no hurry. Even at the most climactic moments, he always looks for an offbeat perspective.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

Jul 28, 2026

[Michael] Fassbender’s hardbitten gunman has a bemused fatality about him, a man who expects every stranger in this gorgeous and savage wilderness to be a killer by nature or desperation. He’s usually right.

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Jordan Brooks

Vague Visages

Aug 3, 2023

Slow West‘s finest moments are saved for the “final showdown.”

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

Aug 25, 2022

4.5/5

A compelling story set within familiar Western boundaries but strikingly original in the paths it takes.

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Paul O

@pjkeys Jun 21, 2026

good plot and story telling to keep the interest.

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David H.

@rivrocks Jun 5, 2026

This should have been a short. Start watching at 1:09:12 with the understanding that the young man tied to the tree has been through a lot to get to see the young woman in the house again. He loves her even though she has a bounty on her head. You can stop watching at 1:17:33. You're welcome.

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acsdoug D

@acsdoug Feb 1, 2026

Slow West? Slow movie.

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Jessica T

@zer0reviews Jan 26, 2026

lol 92%? This is why you can’t trust rottentomatos. This movie was awful. Literally put salt in the guys wound, you can’t get anymore hack then that.

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Scott M

@RT75128960 Dec 20, 2025

A young teen boy travels west in the 1870's to tell a girl he loves her. He meets a tall stranger who takes a liking to the boy and offers to help guide him there. Very enjoyable story. A lot of death and violence though. Which I enjoyed. But may not be for everyone.

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Chris T

@RT85906111 Oct 4, 2025

Stumbled across this one. EXCELLANT. Please watch this, it's a slow burner but the acting is great, the 'funny' bits are and the ending is tragic and exciting at the same time. In a time of green screen and big explosions this is one of the best films I've seen in a long time!

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Synopsis

A bounty hunter keeps his true motive a secret from the naive Scottish teenager he's offered to serve as bodyguard and guide while the youth searches for his beloved in the 1800s Colorado.

Director: John Maclean
Producer: Rachel Gardner, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Conor McCaughan
Screenwriter: John Maclean
Distributor: A24
Production Co: See-Saw Films, Rachel Gardner Films, DMC Film
Rating: R (Violence|Brief Language)
Genre: Western, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Adventure, Romance
Original Language: British English
Release Date (Theaters): May 15, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 16, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $215.6K
Runtime: 1h 31m

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