Catching Dust Review: Trying to Escape the Desert

Stuart Gatt’s Catching Dust is a well-shot and frustratingly uneven Western-inspired drama, featuring a game Erin Moriarty.

Catching Dust does try to bite more than it can chew, though, which results in a slow-paced and uneven experience.

Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys, The Suicide Squad) plays Clyde, a bearded cowboy and criminal running away from trouble alongside his wife Geena (Erin Moriarty, of The Boys). Together they’ve settled in the middle of the Texan desert, living in a trailer and hunting and growing their own food. Things change, though, when a New York couple visits them: Amaya (Dina Shihabi) and Andy (Ryan Corr) come looking for a thriving commune, but end up finding just Clyde, Geena and their trailer. And although Amaya is initially reluctant to stay, despite having left the big city in order to get a respite, they end up settling in with their tiny house, which excites Geena, but puts Clyde in a bad mood.

Despite having two couples as central characters, Catching Dust is actually about Geena. It’s about her abusive relationship with Clyde, her artistic interests – she likes to draw and paint – and the way she approaches her new neighbours. She is a vulnerable and intelligent woman, who despite her better instincts decides to stay with Clyde. She knows he’s bad news and she knows that she doesn’t have much of a future with him in the middle of the Texan desert, and yet she stays. She’s afraid of saying no and she’s afraid of what he might do if he realises she wants to leave him.

It is through her new neighbours’ actions, though, that she starts to gradually realise she must make a big change in her life. On the one hand, tough Amaya tries to convince her that she must go to the nearest town and report Clyde to the police not only for his aggressive tendencies but also because of his criminal past. And on the other hand, Andy becomes a sort of tempting figure: he is a representation of what she could have had, had she not decided to fall in love with a dangerous man escaping the law. Thus, he begins to teach her more about art and abstract expressionism, a situation that, predictably, eventually turns into a flirtatious relationship.

Writer-director Stuart Gatt has a clear vision for Catching Dust, but those intentions don’t necessarily turn into a compelling viewing experience. For one, this is a slow-paced movie, which means some viewers might get impatient while watching it, especially considering Geena turns out to be a rather passive protagonist. Additionally, some of the narrative beats are pretty predictable, especially everything regarding Geena and Andy’s interactions. It’s a good thing that the former ends up being such an empathetic figure because otherwise, the film could’ve ended up being unbearably tedious.

Thankfully, the performances are all great. The stand-out is clearly Erin Moriarty, who turns Geena into a three-dimensional and complex human being. Yes, she’s smart and artistic and perceptive, but she’s also trapped in an abusive relationship and doesn’t seem to realise it (at least initially). Moriarty is believable in the role, making the viewer realise why she fell in love with Clyde in the first place, but also that she now needs to escape the desert. For his part, underrated Aussie actor Jai Courtney portrays Clyde as a jaded and grumpy and aggressive individual, who nevertheless shows a bit of vulnerability from time to time.

Dina Shihabi’s role, on the other hand, is a tad more thankless: yes, Amaya has her own problems with Andy, but she’s in this story mainly to help Geena and serve as a catalyst for the changes that need to occur in our protagonist’s life. Shihabi gives a thoughtful and credible performance, though, which helps her avoid turning the character into a stereotype. And although Andy is important to the story –and takes part in a revelatory and crushing scene late in the proceedings– Ryan Corr doesn’t have much to work with. Catching Dust focuses so much on Geena, that his character, and to a lesser extent, Shihabi’s, end up getting the short end of the stick.

Shot in 35mm film, Catching Dust is a gorgeous-looking movie. Taking advantage of their incredible locations, Gatt and his team manage to turn the Texan desert into an oppressive place, emphasising Geena’s feeling of isolation and allowing the viewer to consider the harsh conditions she and Clyde must be living in. Camerawork is deceptively simple, but by combining large, sweeping shots of the desert with intimate close-ups of its characters, the film allows one to get immersed in the story, even when the glacial pacing starts to create a barrier between film and spectator.

Catching Dust is an intriguing and frustratingly uneven film. On the one hand, it has believable characters, a decent premise, and features some spectacular 35-mm cinematography. On the other hand, it doesn’t take full advantage of its slow pacing or its protagonist and doesn’t give much to do to the secondary characters. In a general sense, I enjoyed my time with Catching Dust, but at the same time, I wish I could’ve liked it more. Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a well-shot and well-acted Western-inspired feature, you should definitely give it a chance.

Catching Dust is now available to watch on digital and on demand in the US and will be released on VOD in the UK from 20 January, 2025.

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