Oregon, 1845. Three pioneer families in covered wagons are making the treacherous journey west led by Stephen Meek when they realize he no longer knows the way. The first (and to date, only) period piece in Reichardt’s filmography, MEEK’S CUTOFF finds her every bit as comfortable working in this mode.
Abandoned by her family as an unwed mother and sold as a prostitute to soldiers by a traveling salesman, Josephine Monaghan (Suzy Amis) decides to live as a man. As ‘Jo,’ she settles in the shabby mining town of Ruby City and becomes a frontiersman.