55
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 78TheWrapWilliam BibbianiTheWrapWilliam BibbianiPolsky’s film digs into the rot in his characters’ psyches for a time but gradually climbs back out again, perhaps in an attempt to put their madness in a larger context social context. But mostly the final act of the film comes across like clunky, though well-earned, moralizing.
- 75The PlaylistAndrew CrumpThe PlaylistAndrew CrumpButcher’s Crossing is a gorgeous travelog. It’s also a warning about what happens when people fail to tread lightly in the natural world, both as a consequence of nature and themselves.
- 70SlashfilmChris EvangelistaSlashfilmChris EvangelistaButcher's Crossing makes a lot of little, stretching its small budget to the extreme to create a nightmarish saga of violent men who seem convinced of their own superiority over everything, especially the land.
- 63Movie NationRoger MooreMovie NationRoger MooreWhat few real tests the young man from Back East must face, the picture about his coming of age passes the most important. It looks and feels right, with buffal-in-their-element scenes that don’t have the scale of “Dances With Wolves,” but play big enough to make the parable’s point land and land hard.
- 60Screen DailyTim GriersonScreen DailyTim GriersonDespite Nicolas Cage’s committed performance as the imposing, hardheaded leader of the expedition, this mournful yarn can’t quite transcend what’s familiar about its study of masculinity and the unforgiving spirit of the natural world.
- 60The New York TimesBrandon YuThe New York TimesBrandon YuIt’s a mostly well-crafted film with decent visual scope. The film’s greatest flaws are in Cage’s shakily written character.
- 50IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThere’s some fun to be had in the Brando-like flickers of Cage’s performance, but Polsky’s film is too practical and logic-driven to indulge them.
- 50San Francisco ChronicleBob StraussSan Francisco ChronicleBob StraussThough Butcher’s Crossing has its share of conflicts and drama, it can move as slowly as the glaciers that cut its imposing scenery.
- 50Wall Street JournalKyle SmithWall Street JournalKyle SmithIt has a classical moral that would have made Aesop salute: Greed is not only corrupting, it can be self-defeating. Moreover, suspense lies both in wanting to know whether Miller’s quest will succeed and in what lessons might be learned. Though Miller’s actions drive the story, it is mainly an education for Will, the observer.
- 38RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsRogerEbert.comRobert DanielsButcher’s Crossing is unfocused, distant, and flat.