|
 “Deadwood”
may be the only show on TV that is true, despite taking place more
than one hundred years ago. Because it is so real, it is a remarkable
feat of the imagination. Almost every other Western film, old or new,
or as series TV, is weak and unusually clean, dirt free, predictable
and without substance. The only narrative film in recent years that is
equal to “Deadwood” is Clint Eastwood’s “Unforgiven,” a powerful and
demanding film that demythologizes the Western film as genre and
often-weak entertainment. Even the great John Ford Western’s never
kicked up as much dust, dirt and goop as we see in the streets and
saloons of Deadwood. As many who are my age, I grew up an unabashed
fan of Western films. These included not only the ones John Wayne
starred in, but also the Saturday morning serials in the Kent Theater
a few blocks from where I lived in Brooklyn. Until “Deadwood” came
 along,
despite “Lonesome Dove,” I thought the Hollywood Western was all but
dead. Many reviewers thought highly of “Lonesome Trail,” the recent
mini-series on TV staring Robert Duval, as usual, but it is weak by
comparison with “Deadwood” and far weaker than “Lonesome Dove.”
“Deadwood” is not to everyone’s taste. If so, the ratings would be
higher and it would have had a long life on HBO. As of now, one short
season remains of two two-hour films. Then, reruns.
History about life west of the Mississippi in the 19th Century is a
mix of frontier newspapers, myths, diaries and letters. All else is
guesswork. Who is to say that David Milch, the series creator and his
staff is right about life in the territories west of the Mississippi?
That means that “Deadwood” to a degree is a fantasy. As such it is
glorious entertainment with unusually, fine writing, directing, and
wonderful performances. I cannot ask for more.
 Watching
“Deadwood,” you see grit and grime. Dirt and muck. Mud and waste,
human and animal. We see people who we believe smell bad, but because
everyone else smells as badly, no one seems to mind. Without much
effort, I can detect the odors that rise from the street. Hygiene is
beyond their wont. Poorly dressed, the people are often overdressed
and foppish. Money is scarce. Poverty prevails. Many wear the same
clothing every day. There are the obvious drunks. People doused
themselves in booze and drugs. People tooted guns and knives. They
killed with impunity. Seemingly, senseless murder was part of everyday
life. Maybe mercury or other chemicals used to mine the gold in
Deadwood flowed into their veins and damaged their minds. Rarely does
anyone seem sane, or at peace with themselves or with others, and
fewer even appear reasonable. Many were angry, probably because life
was very difficult and unpredictable. We might call them mad,
especially if today we saw them wandering the streets of a major city.
Profanity was common and accepted. Foul language, a part of everyday
speech. No language police apply here. Prostitution was a necessary
part of life with the women in absolute servitude. Whores were
chattel, but accepted as part of rough society. A determined woman
could escape, but that rarely happened.
The directing is usually tight with very little wasted effort. The
acting is dead on, though sometimes over the top. The camera work is
superb. The editing is crisp. The set, a town built from scratch, is
unique, especially given that each season they add new buildings. The
costumes well researched. All that makes “Deadwood” appointment
television for me because of its look, its feel, and even it’s
sometimes stilted language akin to Elizabethan English or how people
might have once talked in Appalachia. Simply put, Deadwood, the place,
is the way the West may have been before Hollywood cleaned up its
version of the old West.
 The
characters in the series rarely analyze their motivations. Those who
can think ahead have the power to control the lives of others, and
they exercise it. They often use brute power combined with anti-social
behavior. Reactions to events and people are immediate and, other than
what we get from the scriptwriter, they rarely seem calculated. When
calculated, their emotions appear skewed. Perhaps the harshness of
their lives, too much drink, drugs, bad food, and disease affect and
addle their minds. From Al Swearengen, to Seth Bullock, to Cy
Tolliver, to Joanie Stubs, to Calamity Jane, to Trixie, to Alma
Garret, to Sol Star, to Doc Cochran, to George Hearst, to Charlie
Utter, to Dan Dority and to all the other finely drawn characters,
survival is everything. In a place like Deadwood, life has little
value. When a killing takes place, you think it is senseless. Then you
realize it fits the plot nearly perfectly. The West of Deadwood is not
a place of niceties.
Not every script is perfect, though most of the characters and the
plot lines are well drawn. Some storylines, though, are thin and not
very compelling. I can do without the acting troupe – boring and
characterless – and who cares. It is clear that Jack Langrishe is
there to give some humanity and background to Al Swearengen, difficult
at best. It is also almost as if he is there only for the hour about
amateur night in the town. I am not certain why Steve the drunk – my
name for him – has as large a role as he does. Yes, a bigot. Yes, a
racist. The Old West is far from immune to bigotry. But why waste so
much time on his character when those precious minutes could have been
better spent on something else. Often here there is an attempt to
squeeze too much into the fifty or so minutes for each hour, but that
is a quibble. Despite these cavils, “Deadwood” is one of the best
series on television. It makes almost everything else on TV,
subscription, broadcast or cable, pale by comparison.
I am sad to see it go.
.........................................................................................................................
At NBC News for 35 years, Ron Steinman was bureau chief
in Saigon, Hong Kong and London, was a senior producer on Today and wrote
and produced for Sunday Today. At ABC News Productions, he produced
and wrote documentaries for A&E, TLC, Discovery, Lifetime and the
History Channel. He has a Peabody, a National Headliner award, a
National Press Club award, a International Documentary Festival Gold
Camera Award, two American Women in Radio & Television awards and
has been nominated for five Emmy's. He is a partner in
Douglas/Steinman Productions, whose latest documentary, "Luboml: My
Heart Remembers," aired on PBS' WLIW/21 and the History Channel in
Israel, April 29, 2003. He is the author of, "The Soldiers 'Story",
"Women in Vietnam," and most recently, "Inside Television's First
War: A Saigon Journal," University of Missouri Press, 2002. |
