In the present, a woman walking her dog on the riverside discovers two skeletons lying together in a shallow grave.
In 1820, Otis "Cookie" Figowitz is a quiet chef traveling inOregon Country with a group of loud and aggressive fur trappers who harass him for not finding them enough food. One night, he comes across King-Lu, a Chinese immigrant on the run for killing a Russian man. Cookie allows Lu to hide in his tent for the night and watches him escape across the river the next day.
Cookie's group reaches a fort and Lu finds him there, babysitting an infant in the middle of a bar fight, and invites him to his house. Cookie moves in, and learns Lu is thinking about starting a farm, while Cookie talks about opening a bakery or hotel inSan Francisco.
Meanwhile, the outpost's first milk cow has arrived; her mate and calf died on the journey. She is left unattended at night just outside the house of the wealthiest English trader in town, theChief Factor. Lu laments that poor men don't stand a chance to get ahead without some kind of fortune or committing a crime. Cookie reminisces about his days as a baker's assistant inBoston and tells Lu that he could use some of the cow's milk to make baked goods. They sneak onto the Chief Factor's property at night, Cookie milking the cow and Lu keeping watch from a tree. They manage to get enough milk to bake a batch of buttermilk biscuits. Cookie is unsatisfied with the result, wishing it could be sweeter, but Lu points out they are far better than anything on the outpost and suggests they could make a fortune. Cookie refines his recipe and adds honey.
They take their first batch of sweet oily cakes to market. When asked the recipe, Lu claims it's a "Chinese secret." The first few men to try them excitedly ask for more, and a bidding war erupts for the last cake. Word spreads and the men line up day after day as they run out. One day, a big man shoves a slight man aside for the last cake, and Lu does not object, only caring for the money. As they get richer, they decide it's safer to store their money in a tree than to take it to a bank.
The Chief Factor tries their cakes and asks Cookie to bake aclafoutis, the favorite of a captain he wants to impress at their next meeting. Lu and Cookie proudly deliver the clafoutis and observe as the Chief Factor offers tea with cream to the captain, remarking that despite his cow's good breeding, it is producing very little milk. He takes the captain, the chief, Cookie and Lu to see the cow, which recognizes Cookie and nuzzles him. Cookie urges Lu to leave town now, sensing the danger, but Lu persuades him they don't have enough to get to San Francisco and start their business, so they go back the next night to milk the cow once again.
A man at the Chief Factor's estate comes out to fetch a cat, and the tree branch breaks before Cookie hears Lu's warning call. They run as the alarm is raised, and after the captain sees the pail and stool and informs the Chief Factor his cow was being milked, they send their men to kill Lu and Cookie. When they reach a river, Lu jumps, but Cookie hides, then falls down a hill, hitting his head. Cookie wakes up in a shack, helped by an elderlyNative Hawaiian couple. He says he needs to find his friend and soon leaves.
Lu trades his buttons to hire a canoe to go downstream in search of Cookie, and returns to the shack, hiding from the Chief Factor's men rummaging through the destruction. He retrieves their money from the tree. Cookie returns to the shack, walking by the cow on the Factor's estate, now surrounded by a fence. He is spied by the slight man Lu ignored in line at the market, who follows with a rifle.
Cookie finds Lu at the shack, and Lu suggests they catch the next boat south. Cookie can't keep up through the woods and he lies down, clearly fatigued. Lu tells Cookie they will be safe and promises to keep watch, then lies beside him, reassures him, and closes his eyes.
In October 2018, it was announced thatKelly Reichardt would direct the film, from a screenplay she wrote alongsideJonathan Raymond.Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani,Scott Rudin andEli Bush would produce the film under their FilmScience and Scott Rudin Productions banners, respectively, whileA24 would distribute.[9][10]
First Cow had its world premiere at theTelluride Film Festival on August 30, 2019.[16] It screened at theNew York Film Festival on September 28, 2019.[17] Although it was released in four U.S. theaters on March 6, 2020, the film was pulled from release byA24 on March 15, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. It was released for purchase on VOD platforms on July 10, 2020, and became available to rent on July 21.[18]
Onreview aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96% based on 209 reviews, with an average score of 8.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "First Cow finds director Kelly Reichardt revisiting territory and themes that will be familiar to fans of her previous work—with typically rewarding results."[19] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 44 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[20]
A. A. Dowd and Katie Rife ofThe A.V. Club gave the film a positive review, praising its simplicity and precise storytelling.[21]
At the end of 2020, 119 film critics included the film on their top-ten lists, with 18 ranking it first and 20 ranking it second.[22]
