If you long for a time when men were men and those men were all hell-bent on killing each other, when indoor plumbing was nonexistent but whiskey was plentiful, you’ve probably been waiting for another frontier story to kick down your door. Enter: The new Netflix Western American Primeval, which comes in hot with characters facing down violence and adversity by the wagonload. This six-episode series doesn’t build up its characters enough for its finale to really pay off, but its chronicle of an unforgiving land – and even less merciful people – will put some hair on your chest.
In the Utah Territory circa 1857, U.S. troops face off against the Mormon militia, native tribes face off against invading frontiersmen, and there’s plenty of crossfire to go around. Caught in the middle of it are mother-son pair Sara (Betty Gilpin, riveting) and Devin (Preston Mota), who are traveling from the northeast to meet up with Devin’s father. Along the way they connect with a young Mormon couple, a fort proprietor, a mute Shoshone girl, and a wild man named Isaac Reed (a beguiling Taylor Kitsch).
American Primeval chases each of these characters’ stories and then some, taking on political intrigue after the Mormon militia attacks a party of travelers and tries to fudge their role in the crime, wrongly assuming that there are no surviving witnesses. And if you think that sounds like a lot to pack into six episodes, you’re correct! Ambition is both the greatest asset and most notable flaw on display, with Friday Night Lights director Peter Berg and Twisters screenwriter Mark L. Smith tenaciously leading us up snowy mountains and into desert encampments. In the first episode, Sara and Devin’s experience of the Mormons’ massacre is choreographed and edited to look as though it was accomplished in one take – no small feat for a sequence that involves a near-scalping, a stampeding ox, and flaming arrows firing from every direction.
It helps that the cast is so capable. Gilpin commands attention as Sara, whose steadfast devotion to her son often tips over into pigheadedness, causing friction between her and Isaac. Standouts among the supporting cast include Saura Lightfoot-Leon as Abish, a fierce yet ambivalent Mormon wife, and Shea Whigham as the shrewd and sloppy landowner Jim Bridger. Dane Dehaan, as Abish’s increasingly unhinged husband, Jacob, deserves props for acting through a torrent of fake blood for the majority of the show.
But overzealous cinematography and choppy pacing get in the way of such a solid setup. Brilliant performances are hampered by shots where the camera is at odd angles or too close to give a broad sense of the action. (If you thought the TV version of Friday Night Lights had too much shaky cam, be grateful that its intimate, off-field drama didn’t take place on horseback.) And there are either too many characters or too few episodes for this story to go deep – an issue that becomes especially glaring in the finale, where a big emotional swing falls flat.
American Primeval is no Game of Thrones, but it’s still not for the easily ruffled, particularly those sensitive to animal slaughter, rape, old-timey treatments for grisly injuries, or unflattering portrayals of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This isn’t the kind of show you unwind with, but if you let it take you for a ride, you’re apt to have an engaging – if not earth-shattering – time. Just remember to watch out for those Mormons.
