While surveying a telegraph line in 1861, Western Union engineer Edward Creighton (Dean Jagger) is severely injured in an accident. He is discovered by Vance Shaw (Randolph Scott), an outlaw on the run from a posse. Forced to travel on foot after his horse was hurt, Shaw at first considers stealing Creighton's horse, but changes his mind and takes the man with him, saving his life.
Sometime later, following his recovery, Creighton returns to Omaha, Nebraska and plans the construction of a telegraph line from Omaha to Salt Lake City, Utah. Facing considerable opposition to the line from Confederate soldiers, Indians, and outlaws, Creighton elicits the help of his sister Sue (Virginia Gilmore), foreman Pat Grogan (Minor Watson), and assistant Homer Kettle (Chill Wills).
Looking to put his outlaw past behind him, Shaw arrives at Creighton's Western Union office looking for honest work and is hired as a scout by Grogan who is unaware of his past. Creighton recognizes him among the men and allows him to stay despite his suspicions. Creighton also hires tenderfoot Richard Blake (Robert Young), a Harvard-educated engineer as a favor to Blake's father. Shaw and Blake are both attracted to Sue and vie for her attention, but their romantic rivalry is cut short when construction of the telegraph line starts on July 4, 1861.
After work commences on the line, one of the men is killed apparently by a mysterious band of cattle-rustling Indians. Unconvinced that Indians are to blame, Shaw rides out to investigate and follows the rustlers' trail to the camp of Jack Slade, a former friend and cohort, whose gang committed the killing disguised as Indians—the gang Shaw left following his last bank robbery. Slade reveals that they are working for the Confederacy to disrupt Western Union because they believe the telegraph service will help the Union. Shaw rides away and returns to the line. Not wanting to turn in his former friends, Shaw tells Creighton that a large band of Dakota Indians stole the cattle, and recommends that they simply replace the herd and not risk a fight with the Indians.
Sometime later, a confrontation takes place between men working on the forward line and a band of drunken Indians. When one of the Indians tries to steal some equipment, a nervous Blake shoots him, ignoring Shaw's order to remain calm. After word arrives that the main camp is under attack by other Indians, the Western Union men rush back to help with the defense. At the main camp, Slade's men, who are again disguised as Indians, steal the Western Union horses. The company discover the ruse when one of the wounded Indians turns out to be a white man. Forced to buy back their stolen horses from Slade, Creighton becomes suspicious of Shaw's involvement, especially when he admits to knowing the gang.
Soon the U.S. Army arrives and announces the Indians have now refused to allow the telegraph lines to go through their territory in response to Blake's shooting of the drunken Indian. Creighton, Shaw, and Blake ride out to convince Chief Spotted Horse to allow them to build the line through Indian territory, even though the man Blake wounded was Spotted Horse's son. Creighton is finally able to persuade the Indians to allow them passage, and work continues until the company approaches Salt Lake City.
Sometime later, Shaw receives word that Jack Slade wants to meet with him. On the way to see Slade, Shaw is captured and bound by Slade's men. Slade says his group is going to burn down the Western Union camp and they don't want Shaw to interfere. After Slade and his men ride off, Shaw escapes from his ropes but arrives back too late to prevent the fire. He helps rescue some of the Western Union men from the flames and burns his hands in the process.
After the fire, Creighton confronts Shaw for an explanation, but Shaw does not reveal what he knows and is fired by Creighton. As Shaw leaves the camp, he tells Blake that Slade is actually Shaw's brother and that he, Shaw, will find Slade's gang and stop them from interfering with the telegraph project. Shaw rides off and finds Slade and his men in a nearby town. At the barber shop, Shaw confronts his brother, whose gun is concealed under the barber's sheet. Slade shoots Shaw through the sheet. Shaw fights back in spite of his wound, killing some of the gang members, and then dies. Blake arrives and continues the fight with Slade who dies from his wounds. Soon after, the Western Union line is completed and the workers celebrate. When Sue laments the absence of Shaw, Creighton tells her that Shaw can hear them.
片名“美国女孩”，但其实讲的是两种不同文化相互碰撞的家庭故事。很喜欢影片前半呈现出来的生活质感，偶尔的小温情能让人心里暖暖的。影片后半借用当年SARS来套用当下，想要的东西太多，叙事太赶影响了节奏。最后一场家庭大矛盾就草草和解收场，有一种到点打卡下班的感觉。其实还可以表达更多东西，烂尾可惜了。
sars时期的故事放在疫情时代上映很讨巧，但整体上缺点不少。家庭部分的矛盾与和解，总体过于平淡，没有看到人物内心转变的细节，也缺乏高潮段落；时代背景的体现过于符号化，流于表面；本应很重要的一块身份认同，也如短线风筝般没有下文。总的还说就是时代坐标模糊，又缺乏足够强大的人物内心力量，太过温吞、无趣
同样是讲中西文化冲突和母女代际关系以及青少年情感，与外放的 Turning Red 相比，个人反倒更喜欢本片静水深流式的情绪与氛围（东亚 vs 北美的创作及审美取向亦可见一斑），找回了些世纪之交的台湾电影的意境。林嘉欣不觉见老，仍是很有韵味。又及。
平庸，視聽語言太弱。但一如既往地喜歡林嘉欣的表演，第一次做化療時的緊張害怕脆弱，處理得很好。
感情表达很细腻，也有跟着落泪。不过好像只是在表达，意义并不深刻。结尾也有点突然结束，人物形象立的不是很饱满。（然后想想没有孩子应该不会这么愁吧，林嘉欣还是好美好美）
与其看这些新片不如再重头看一遍杨德昌。
影片核心命题，是关于长姐方仪的身份认同问题，以台湾身份和美国生活经历的失衡感，来呈现这种身份的模糊不定，带给一个家庭的影响。当然，有关身份认同问题，夫妻两个人的生活、工作环境，隐喻了台海两岸错综复杂的关系，比如妻子为了两个女儿成长，虽为台湾人但寻求美国更好的成长环境，而丈夫为了生计、讨生活不得已往返两岸。小女芳安则在片中近乎没有讲一句中文，她代表了完全西化、美式台湾人。方仪控诉母亲“因为你从来没有好好生活过”，对其罹患乳癌消极悲观的生命观，表达女儿的愤恨与不满。这本身就与传统文化当中的尊师敬重的礼仪所不符，因此，方仪这种文化、身份的冲突感，更加强烈。而最终母女和解戏码，大概是在于父亲的引导与暗示，方仪对美国的依赖，是一种现实生活的逃避。这在更大层面上，隐喻当今台湾与美国间的复杂且微妙的关系。
精心设计的剧本，从细到大处处皆冲突和困境。但感觉女孩对文化和自身身份的认同的展现太过执着，反而忽略了女孩与家庭间关系的更丰富的变化，一直感觉在围着一个问题争吵。而母亲的形象刻画得略表面，希望看到更丰富，反而着墨不多的父亲比较出彩，当然也可能因为他不是那个比较沉的角色更容易有张力。幸好母亲的弱倒是被林嘉欣的美忽略了。感觉不够喉。
真的太一般了 我一个会轻易被母女煽情打动的人都一脸懵逼 在Chicago-NYC飞机上看的
首部长片，金马为她推了很大一把力呀，从当初的短片三个角色过渡到回台湾发生的故事长片时剧作上失控了，情节设计太过刻意，情节剧式表达方法的还是写的很棒的像「家庭吵架戏」。妹妹这个角色如此「脸谱化」在前作短片刻画的如此生动的妹妹，到了这成了可有可无的角色。还有场景细节，非典捅喉咙，令我我无法接受一部现实题材如此虚假。
6/10。整体的质感不错，但剧作有很大问题。原以为两个女儿的设定，会以“美国化”的程度不同而产生戏剧冲突，结果发现是我想多了，小女儿甚至彻底沦为工具人。此外，整部影片的冲突由始至终都围绕着回到台湾而展开，双方持分者的理由都很明显，因此呈现给观众的只是不断的争吵与和好，重复又重复，实在乏味。最后，一家人似乎没有过去，无论是在台湾还是美国，唯一的痕迹就是屋内的手印与一两位故人，非典的背景更是形同虚设。
《美国女孩》
硬要雞蛋裡挑骨頭的話，覺得吵架戲碼都較為單一，銜接到結尾豁然開朗讓人有點買不了單，但絕對是4.5佳作。
6/10。整体的质感不错，但剧作有很大问题。原以为两个女儿的设定，会以“美国化”的程度不同而产生戏剧冲突，结果发现是我想多了，小女儿甚至彻底沦为工具人。此外，整部影片的冲突由始至终都围绕着回到台湾而展开，双方持分者的理由都很明显，因此呈现给观众的只是不断的争吵与和好，重复又重复，实在乏味。最后，一家人似乎没有过去，无论是在台湾还是美国，唯一的痕迹就是屋内的手印与一两位故人，非典的背景更是形同虚设。
白马见于安德里亚阿诺德《鱼缸》、李霄峰《少女哪吒》……
1.全篇色调过于阴沉，使人感觉太压抑
而我没有能力说出“下辈子希望妈妈是女儿，而我来当母亲”这样曾经被我嗤之以鼻的话。
影片开头你看到了大量的东亚文化控诉（借以美台环境对比之名），展现了标准的东亚家庭亲子之痛，叠加代际文化等因素，最关键的演讲稿的出现，琢磨着扔个大炸弹，结果掏耳朵虚晃一枪以为喷的是男权（讲真的，这片子里爸爸就是牛马），其实核心还是亲情之爱，但确实是很台湾的方式了。最后呈现了以小见大的台湾家庭情景小品。
只要是母女电影给我感触都很深… SARS 还有文化差异 很细腻
琐碎的生活对话和冲突没有表现人物更深层的心理变化，对社会问题探讨也是浅尝辄止，这点不如《瀑布》，少女恋马的情节和《鱼缸》里很像，p.s.林嘉欣还是好好看哎
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