Roush Review: Brutal ‘American Primeval’ Reveals the West at Its Wildest
Review
American Primeval
After one of many calamities befalls the bedeviled pioneers traversing the unforgiving landscape of American Primeval, we hear these words of cold comfort: “It’s just pain.”
Is it ever. Relentlessly brutal and thus soul-crushingly and mind-numbingly predictable, Netflix’s six-part odyssey into a Western hellhole, from director/executive producer Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and writer Mark L. Smith (The Revenant), is more a test of endurance than entertainment. Wagon Train (for those with long TV-Western memories) was never like this, though perhaps it should have been. Describing Primeval as the Wild West hardly does it justice.
Deadwood was a Magic Kingdom of escapism compared to this vision of the forbidding Utah territory of 1857. Into this lawless land (filmed on painstakingly authentic location in New Mexico) wanders a woman of mystery, Sarah Rowell (the ever-fearless and excellent Betty Gilpin) and her young son Devin (Preston Mota), en route to a husband who may or may not be expecting or wanting them. Seeking “simple transport” out of the Wyoming territory’s rugged Fort Bridger trading post, run by a hugely enjoyable Shea Whigham as the cagy and unflappable Jim Bridger, the Rowells eventually enlist a taciturn lone-wolf guide and sometimes protector, Isaac (stoic Taylor Kitsch), who was raised by Shoshone and emotionally scarred by tragedy.
With a stowaway young Native girl, the mute Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier), tagging along, this motley crew barely survives a horrible and unflinchingly filmed massacre before embarking on a treacherous trek where any bad thing imaginable is right around the corner. You name it, American Primeval‘s got it: outlaws, bandits, unscrupulous bounty hunters, hostile (though not always) Natives, perilous weather, ravenous wildlife, and — worst of all — marauding and murderous Mormon militiamen on a messianic crusade to slaughter anyone they feel threatens their separatist sovereignty. (Sons of Anarchy‘s Kim Coates fairly chews the scenery as the manipulative zealot Brigham Young.)
Even John Wayne might have second thoughts about moseying into this unsparing inferno, where anyone with a shred of decency is lucky to make it to the next scene. Don’t say you weren’t warned.
(Pro tip: If you’re looking for a more enjoyable Western to stream, check out 2017’s Emmy-winning Godless. The only thing it’s missing from its female-driven cast is the remarkable Betty Gilpin.)
American Primeval, Streaming Now, Netflix
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The massacre everything is based around and them purchasing and setting fire to Fort Bridger is based on actual happenings
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I'm currently watching, just closing my eyes during some of the more brutal parts. I am already frustrated, however, by the lead female character who never does what the guy with experience in the area tells her to do, always leading to even more danger and violence. Having said that, I think Gilpin is doing an incredible job in the role, as are most of the other cast members.
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An extraordinary historical reconstruction, which elevates the narrative to a masterpiece of authenticity. The acting performances are masterful, each character lives and breathes on the screen with a rare depth, while the photography reaches peaks of excellence, capturing the beauty and brutality of the landscape and the era with pictorial precision.
Without half measures, this series ranks among the best westerns ever made, surpassing in some aspects even milestones of the genre such as Deadwood or 1883. There are no concessions or discounts to modern sensibility, violence is present, yes, but never gratuitous, always functional to represent the harsh daily reality of those difficult and ruthless times.
It is a narrative experience that stands out for its rigor and intensity, leaving its mark as a complete and powerful work. I hope that the format remains a conclusive mini-series, capable of preserving its artistic integrity, becoming an essential appointment for enthusiasts in the coming years, I would be ready to pay a monthly subscription to any platform just to see a work of this kind.
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Loved it, but was any of it based on true history about the Mormons?
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