After its debut in 2019 at Telluride, Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow gathered a persistent buzz on the festival circuit, culminating in nominations at this year’s Spirit Awards. Its wider release has been a long time coming but, by all accounts, it’s been worth the wait.
Which is appropriate for the latest offering from a director whose films take as long as they take. Her elegiac look at life in 1820s Oregon has two outcasts at its heart – Chinese immigrant King Lu (Orion Lee) and Cookie, played by John Magaro, a quiet loner with a talent for food, something which Lu sees as an opportunity to make money. Cookie’s creations prove extremely popular at the local market, but they contain an essential ingredient. Fresh milk. And they’re stealing it from the only cow for miles, which just happens to belong to a wealthy landowner.
As Magaro explains in the interview below, he was attracted to his role in the film for a number of reasons, but mainly because its lack of dialogue meant he was attempting something new. “I’ve never played this type of character before and it stretched me as an actor. There’s no crutch of language, but that’s a great challenge to have.”
He also discusses his two key relationships in the film: with King Lu and how the pair “are soul mates, they need each other and they form a home together” and his four legged co-star, Evie, the cow of the title. He remembers her as being very easy to work with as long as “you bribed her with treats and she did her job.”
Magaro is back on our screens later this year in the ‘Sopranos’ prequel, The Many Saints Of Newark, which stars Michael Gandolfini (son of the late James Gandolfini) as the young Tony. The two actors have known each other since working together ten years ago and, having seen the film, Magaro says the young actor “destroys the role – he’s an amazing actor.”
First Cow is in cinemas from 28th May.
