Kelly Reichardt

Introduction

Kelly Reichardt is one of America’s leading, and most distinctive, independent directors. Her work is consistent in quality yet ever-evolving, the nuance and subtlety she achieves as director and writer is amplified by, and dependent on, her precision editing.

Reichardt has forged deep collaborative relationships with, among others, actor Michelle Williams, writer Jon Raymond and cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt, with whom she’s developed a compelling visual style.

Permeated by a fragile sense of ecological and emotional peril, the deceptively simple narratives of Reichardt’s subtly political films can turn on a resonant gesture, an unspoken word or a singular look. The characters are America’s wild-eyed ramblers and flinty outsiders; everyday folk hobbled by loneliness, isolation and monotony.

She maps landscapes – suburban Florida, the velvety forests and rocky plains of Oregon, small-town Montana – as living, breathing entities. Her wide-shots, and elongated pans create a vastness and a sense of distance between aspirations and reality, especially when framing her female characters.

Highlighted works

Certain Women

Kelly Reichardt delivers an impeccably quiet study of the lives of Montana women, starring Michelle Williams, Laura Dern, Kristen Stewart and Lily Gladstone.
Old Joy

Musician Will Oldham co-stars in this film about old friends who have drifted apart.
Night Moves

Jesse Eisenberg stars in this political thriller about a radical environmentalist.
Wendy and Lucy

Michelle Williams is stunning as a young drifter who loses her beloved dog while on the road.
River of Grass

A lost gun and a bored housewife feature in Kelly Reichardt’s bold 1994 debut.
Meek's Cutoff

Kelly Reichardt’s elegiac re-visioning of the western is a rare beauty to behold, especially on the big screen.

Filmography

2019

First Cow

Directed by
Screenplay by
Editor
2017

Wonderstruck

The producers and directors wish to thank the following for their contribution
2015

Certain Women

Directed by
Screenplay by
Editor
2014

Still Alice

The directors would like to thank
2013

Night Moves

Director
A Kelly Reichardt film
Written by
Editor
2010

Meek's Cutoff

Directed by
Editor
2008

Wendy and Lucy

Directed by
Screenplay by
Editor
2007

I'm Not There.

Special Thanks
2005

Old Joy

Directed by
Screenplay
Editor
1999

Ode

Director
Screenplay
Director of Photography
1998

Velvet Goldmine

Thanks to
1994

River of Grass

Director
Producer
Screenplay
1990

Poison

Property Master/Key Dresser
1989

The Unbelievable Truth

Wardrobe Supervisor
irate driver's wife