The Donner Party (2009) Movie Review

The Donner Party written and directed by T.J. Martin starring Crispin Glover (William Foster) and Clayne Crawford (William Eddy) is the latest retelling of at least part of the Donner party story as it may or may not have happened based on some possibly accurate and some possibly inaccurate accounts with some creative editing. The movie does not claim to be a depiction of historical events and I do not intend to review it as such. What it does do with 100% surety is rekindle our striving to understand what we cannot possibly know.

The film focuses on a small group who left the actual Donner party in hopes of getting over the mountains to California to organize rescue efforts. These souls became known as the Forlorn Hope in C. F. McGlashan's History of the Donner Party, written 33 years after the events occurred. The original working title The Forlorn more accurately portrayed the feel of the movie but has been changed for marketing purposes.

In the first moments of the film it's obvious that cinematography is a strong point. Shooting on location near the actual event area provided perfect staging. You are instantly aware that it is in color and that color is grayscale. Even when a red scarf appears it becomes muddied by constantly filtered light. Shots of a gray, unforgiving, endlessly snowing sky through stark silhouettes of leafless branches and towering pine express the enclosed microcosm of being on the ground amidst the vastness of the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Conveyance of being utterly lost and separated is the key to understanding what the travelers endure in a battle against their bodies and minds.

Weather conditions, lack of shelter, and the utter void of anything living burns into you as you watch the suffering escalate and you wonder if you would have the fortitude to make it through a single day. Desperation takes hold as the company faces starvation and constant exposure to extreme elements. The emotional, mental, and moral dilemmas fall and accumulate along with the snow culminating in the contemplation of cannibalism.

The scenery is as bleak as the traveler's future and they consider cannibalizing the dead they've left behind. Instead they make a pact agreeing to be consumed upon their own deaths. Before you can conceive of all the implications of this you are in the midst of a drawing for the first to be sacrificed. Mr. Foster, who has previously been a leader in name only, delves into the realm of terrorism securing his position once and for all as he takes on the role of murderer. Prayers for absolution of the atrocity they have committed are offered as they quietly consume their fellow travelers and you have to wonder where you would draw the line. A father commits suicide to save his daughters, the Indian guide who deserted when he understood he may become victimized is hunted down and shared around a campfire, a wife murders the man who cannibalizes her husband's body while she sleeps and days without food cause a complete physical breakdown of Mr. Eddy who is then force fed; his eyes revealing the moral bankruptcy he could not avoid.

At the very least this movie is artistic and thought provoking, at it's best it is horrifically mortifying and makes you thankful for the advances of the last 150 years. If you are expecting blood curdling screams and gruesome butchery you'll be disappointed. This is not meant to be a shocking horror movie. It is an assault on your senses and morals. It questions your drive to survive.