Film Review: Quantum Cowboys

4 Stars

By Joseph Beyer | Jan. 27, 2024

During this awards season of repetitious praise for a handful of studio movies and critical darlings (some of which actually deserve them), it may feel like you’re experiencing a loop of the familiar. If so, then allow me to scratch your itch with a recommendation for something uniquely different: Quantum Cowboys. This fiercely independent film is now available on Amazon and perfect for philosophers, cannabis lovers, and those seeking existential meaning from the cosmos.

The project features some familiar faces like Lily Gladstone (recent Golden Globe winner for Killers of the Flower Moon and newly minted Oscar nominee), David Arquette (who, along with Gladstone, also produced the film), and the always entertaining Gary Farmer. Quantum Cowboys also reveals new talents in the young actors Kiowa Gordon and John Way, who play the leads with pitch-perfect postmodern angst.

The plot itself, inspired heavily by the genre of Westerns, follows two friends and drifters on their crusade to course-correct the outcomes of their lives. We ride along with them as they follow clues that lead them to an eventual understanding of the elasticity of the universe and, more importantly, a rediscovery of their own humanity. Along the way, as in life, there are allies and enemies, and it’s not always clear who is who.

Produced independently by a tight-knit group of artist-collaborators taking a chance on a wild concept, Quantum Cowboys is a self-described “antilogy” or set of contradictions led by writer and director Geoff Marslett, who also supervised the 14 different conceptual animation styles that make up the film’s many storylines and iterations.

The result is a visually hypnotic and strange narrative about (I hypothesize) time, space, and the singular work of humans to mark it through observation, art, and memories. There’s also a subatomic subplot involving the microcosmos for those more scientifically than spiritually inclined.

Whatever Quantum Cowboys may mean to you, the creatives behind it have allowed you plenty of freedom to discover your own interpretations. What will hook you, I suspect, are the confident and engaging performances of an ensemble of talented actors—enhanced by different teams of animators, designers, and digital wizards.

The sardonic and witty script achieves a logic all its own, and the dynamics of the characters and their conflicts are strong enough to become cohesive, even as they exist within extremely varied styles and approaches.

While much of the narrative begins in mystery, director Marslett is a talented storyteller with an instinctual trust for his audience, and he guides the story with confidence until its unusual but logical ending. In addition to his role as master of this created universe, Marslett extracts terrific and subtle performances from his cast, combining them all together in something that seems almost inevitable.

Should you choose to spin Quantum Cowboys, I hope it will strike you as visually stunning, intelligent, and patient storytelling that’s full of surprises. The film has gained momentum across the world through film festivals, special screenings, and word of mouth driven by the tenacious enthusiasm of the cast and crew. This first installment of an intended “Arizona Trilogy” of stories is an exciting teaser, and like a bottle flying out of the air and hitting you on the head, you will likely be knocked out (in a good way) by a film you never saw coming.

Image by Fandor