American Primeval Is No. 1 on Netflix, but Is It Really That Good?
Netflix's gritty Western has a great cast, but the plot isn't quite as strong.
Netflix has released a new project, American Primeval, a slice of the mid-19th century, where fierce battles were fought between the army and other factions of a heterogeneous state for individual territories.
Avoiding a lecture format, the show manages to captivate with a variety of cruelty, heightened suspense, and reflections on the meaninglessness of existence in an era of chaos and division.
What Is American Primeval About?
The story takes place in 1857. Sara and her son Devin leave St. Louis for Utah to join her husband.
Utah is an important strategic location, and both the military and the Native Americans and Mormon militia are trying to occupy it. Isaac, a mysterious hermit with Native American roots, helps Sarah survive in the epicenter of hostilities.
American Primeval's Storyline Is Not So Elaborate
The creators of the six-episode saga were director Peter Berg and screenwriter Mark L. Smith. The latter is best known for his work on The Revenant with Leonardo DiCaprio, from which bloody battles and dismembered bodies of humans and animals migrated to American Primeval.
The audience is introduced to each participant in the branched system of characters one by one, but in the middle of the action, character development gives way to a series of clichés.
Berg acts more like a video game designer, throwing one action skirmish after another into the plot. The main character's backstory also lacks originality: in addition to reuniting with her husband, Sara is fleeing justice for a murder committed in Philadelphia, for which she had good reasons.
American Primeval Is Saved by Its Brilliant Cast
The actors save the show from a drama drought: Betty Gilpin successfully returns to television after a spectacular role as a nun in the sci-fi Mrs. Davis, and Taylor Kitsch rehabilitates himself after years of being stuck in run-of-the-mill projects.
The supporting cast is also curious, with a large number of already forgotten stars: Dane DeHaan, as a righteous Mormon disillusioned with his faith, and Australian Jai Courtney are instantly memorable.
American Primeval Is a Worthy Western Show for a Couple of Nights
American Primeval is gripping, but moderately so, does not chase the status of an important social statement, uses parallels to our era as its main trump card, and sags towards the end, preaching familiar truths.
The result is an entertaining, intense excursion into not-so-distant, terrible times.