[2] She is known for her minimalist films closely associated with slow cinema,[3][4] many of which deal with working-class characters in small, rural communities.
[11] In these two films, critics have noted that she subtly makes clear her displeasure with the Bush administration and its handling of the Iraq War.
Daniel London and singer-songwriter Will Oldham portray two friends who reunite for a camping trip to the Cascades and Bagby Hot Springs, near Portland.
A more intense thriller about a secret plot to blow up a dam, it was considered a shift in tone from her other slower, more melancholic films.
[18] In October 2016, Reichardt revealed that on her next film she would collaborate with author Patrick DeWitt on an adaptation of his novel Undermajordomo Minor, which might be shot outside of the U.S.[19][20] In October 2018, it was announced that Reichardt had put Undermajordomo Minor on hold and would instead reunite with Raymond to direct First Cow, an adaptation of his novel The Half-Life.
Released by A24 to a limited number of theaters in March 2020, the film was pulled from distribution due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and became a video on demand title in June 2020.
It premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and was the director's first feature to be included in the main competition for the Palme d'Or.
[30] She also recognizes her style as minimalist, saying, "A movie is a series of reveals, essentially, and then you're supposed to sit in a room and tell someone what it all means.
Their long takes, minimal dialogue and minimalist action are all characteristics of slow cinema that allow the audience time for contemplation.
[32] This style may also be in response to more mainstream films; Reichardt has said, "when I go to the movies and I sit through the previews, I literally feel assaulted.
"[12] Reichardt's films often focus on characters on the margins of society, who are not usually represented on screen, or who are seeking a better quality of life and place in the world.
Eric Kohn of Indiewire has called her films "a mesmerizing statement on the solitude of everyday life for working-class people who want something better.
[34] In his contemporary review of Old Joy, Slant Magazine's Nick Schager praises how "Reichardt’s delicate touch is such that it creates room for an interpretative flexibility.
[36] Of Meek's Cutoff, she said, "Here was the story of this braggart leading a bunch of people into the desert without a plan and becoming completely reliant on the locals who are socially different from him and who he is suspicious of.
The three protagonists are radical environmentalists,[37] and the film is set in Oregon, a state with many notable instances of environmental protest, particularly against its lumber industry[38] and in defense of the Northern Spotted Owl, an indicator species of the Pacific Northwest.
Xan Brooks of The Guardian uses the examples of "wonky Kurt, left wandering city streets at the end of Old Joy, hapless Wendy, still looking for Alaska, or Meek's Cutoff's lost pioneers, forever strung between triumph and disaster.
In Old Joy, which stars two men and was spoken about at festivals as an LGBT film,[40] the theme of male friendship is highlighted and addressed through feminized qualities of sensitivity and vulnerability rarely seen in mainstream Hollywood cinema.
In Night Moves, Dakota Fanning's character serves as a strong female counterpoint to Jesse Eisenberg's male protagonist, and the film's environmental storyline reflects eco-feminist values.
Reichardt's realism and camera angles reject the objectification of bodies and challenge audience expectations by lingering on seemingly insignificant images after characters have left a scene.