Montana Story Review: A Nuanced, Captivating Drama That Goes Slow & Steady

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Montana Story is a character-driven film and it's refreshing and nuanced in the way writer-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel handle the emotional heaviness of the material. Bolstered by a talented cast, Montana Story allows its drama and characters to sit in the stillness of their emotions and the simmering tension, exploring the complicated dynamics of family and finding closure.

Cal (Owen Teague) is back at his family’s ranch in Montana to care for his ailing father, who is now in a coma after a stroke, his time on Earth quickly running out. Judging by the way Cal barely interacts with him, however, it’s easy to see they had a strained relationship. Cal is surprised, but pleased, when older sister Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) returns home. She hated their father for reasons later revealed, but she wanted to see him one last time before he died. Erin can’t stand to be in the same room with her dad and hasn’t spoken to Cal in years after leaving the ranch behind at 18. Their estrangement is palpable, but there are moments of tenderness between them that recall how close they must have been before. Finally reunited, Cal aims to mend their relationship.

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There isn’t all that much happening in Montana Story, but that isn't reason enough for audiences not to see it. The film takes its time unfolding its central story, that of the fraught relationship between its protagonists. While some may be turned off by its slow pacing, it proves to be perfect, giving time for the narrative to unfold, layering the characters' backstory and journeys ahead. It's a simple tale, but one that is cushioned by the deep feelings at its core, ones that ache