Godless (Limited series; Netflix)
Created, Written, and Directed by Scott Frank
The American Old West has never been more gorgeous, more brooding, more gritty, more real, and, gloriously, more female than in Scott Frank’s stellar and must-see Godless.
The story is simple to summarize, a summary that hides Godless’ complexity: Roy Goode (Jack O’Connell) has fled the man who raised him, the notorious outlaw and gang leader Frank Griffin. Frank takes this as a betrayal. He vows to find Roy and have it out with him. Further, he promises and does wipe out every town that harbors Roy, down to every man, woman, and child. Roy finds safety on a broken down horse ranch run by Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), along with her Paiute mother-in-law Iyovi (Tantoo Cardinal) and young teen son Truckee (Samuel Marty). They live on the outskirts of LaBelle, a town consisting of all women, apart from a handful of men, among them Sheriff Bill McNue (Scoot McNairy) and his young deputy Whitey Winn (Thomas Brodie-Sangster). All the town’s men died in a sliver mining accident, leaving the women to fend for themselves. Eventually, Frank tracks Roy to LaBelle, where he gets more than he bargained for. These women, led by the likes of Alice and Mary Agnes McNue (Merritt Wever), are anything but meek and defenseless.
Westerns once were a staple of American film and television. These were in almost all instances dominated by men. Women were in the background, except when they were love interests of the men; not so in Godless. Here women, from necessity and some from desire, have learned to take care of themselves, and they rise to the challenge of fighting off the likes of Frank Griffin and his gang of cutthroats.
Each of the limited series’ seven episodes involves you deeper into the lives of the lead characters, and into the lives of many of the women. So, when the fully expected shootout arrives in the last episode, you feel connected with them, adding tremendously to the drama of the gun battle, because you yourself feel you have a stake in the outcome. And what a gunfight it is. Think Westworld’s “Paint It Black” gunfight scene multiplied tenfold, with the fable subtracted and sweaty grid added.
Along with strong women fighting back, the series features some of the most gorgeous photography seen in a long time. Though shot for the small screen (well, not quite so small these days if you have the larger monitors and HD), cinematographer Steven Meizler doesn’t shy away from long, sweeping, panoramic framing. Really, it’s not an exaggeration to call what you will see breathtaking. Adding to and heightening the mood, Carlos Rafael Rivera has written a score that captures the sounds of campfire fiddles, the moaning sadness felt by the characters, and the soaring elation of prominent moments, none more so than at the end, as story, camera, and music follow Roy Goode on his final journey. You’ll find yourself replaying these final moments just to hear once again Rivera’s composition in the context of the story’s climax.
Currently, you’ll find Godless only on Netflix, and it is well worth starting a trial subscription, if you don’t already subscribe, to see it. w/c
Writer / Critic 