SXSW Review: “The Cow”

-Allison McCulloch

90 mins. | USA | 2022

When couple Kath (Winona Ryder) and Max (John Gallagher Jr.) end up at a cabin that is double-booked, they roll with it. Al (Owen Teague) and Greta (Brianne Tju) are the polar opposites of Max and Kath: free, easy, and uncommitted. 

Things continue to get weird after they decide to play a board game called Pillow Talkers which could have been invented by Noah Baumbach. Couples share their experiences in order to bring them together “both emotionally and physically”. 

When the whole cabin in the woods experience seems to tear Max and Kath apart, Kath goes back and forth deciding whether to fight for her and Max’s love or to revel in her newfound solitude. 

I loved the revelations and Dermot Mulroney’s performance as Barlow, the man who rented out the cabin who decides to team up with Kath to save the day. In fact, all the actors are perfect and they make it feel real. 

Vegan alert:
-Reference to woman eating live octopus
-Max said being vegan made him really tired because he wasn’t getting any iron (dear Max, there are supplements!!!)

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