I'll start off by saying that I'm not the biggest Costner fan in the world. I don't hate him like a lot of people do, but I find that he can be quite wooden when he acts. That said, he did an awesome job with this one! Everyone did an awesome job!
We all know the story, but this drama brings it to life vividly and highlights an important lesson. The series is beautifully shot, fully capturing the grit of the period. The set's and props also look great.
Kevin Costner, who, like I said above, is usually rather wooden, shines here as someone who originally wanted no part in the feud, but as time goes on is fully drawn into it. Appearing more level headed as McCoy, in truth, Devil Anse is just as hateful.
Bill Paxton made the series for me as Randall McCoy. We see how McCoy, who is inexorably screwed at almost every turn, grows more and more bitter, and hateful. The more bitter he get's, the more he gets screwed and we see an enormous downward spiral. The character invokes massive amounts of pity, because he really did go through a lot from the beginning. This is only added to when the feud begins. He loses several children, his home and his wife goes mad. At the same time, the character makes you want to slap him because his stubbornness causes most of his troubles. Toward the end, he's a broken, hollow man that has lost most everything, but still refuses to let things go. A brilliant performance, as it shows where bitterness can lead.
The supporting cast is great as well, with the likes of Mare Winningham giving the most profound lines of truth toward the end. The musical score is great in some places, but it lacks in others.
So haters are gonna hate (as you can see from the message boards), but it really is a great series. Is it the most accurate? No, but it captures the spirit of the feud and the real tragedy that it was. Were the performances perfect? No. They rarely are. Was it shot in Romania? Yes, but I don't know the reasoning over that (probably money), so I'm not going to judge. No film is perfect, but this one is great and finally presents some actual HISTORY on The History Channel that has been sorely missed.
We all know the story, but this drama brings it to life vividly and highlights an important lesson. The series is beautifully shot, fully capturing the grit of the period. The set's and props also look great.
Kevin Costner, who, like I said above, is usually rather wooden, shines here as someone who originally wanted no part in the feud, but as time goes on is fully drawn into it. Appearing more level headed as McCoy, in truth, Devil Anse is just as hateful.
Bill Paxton made the series for me as Randall McCoy. We see how McCoy, who is inexorably screwed at almost every turn, grows more and more bitter, and hateful. The more bitter he get's, the more he gets screwed and we see an enormous downward spiral. The character invokes massive amounts of pity, because he really did go through a lot from the beginning. This is only added to when the feud begins. He loses several children, his home and his wife goes mad. At the same time, the character makes you want to slap him because his stubbornness causes most of his troubles. Toward the end, he's a broken, hollow man that has lost most everything, but still refuses to let things go. A brilliant performance, as it shows where bitterness can lead.
The supporting cast is great as well, with the likes of Mare Winningham giving the most profound lines of truth toward the end. The musical score is great in some places, but it lacks in others.
So haters are gonna hate (as you can see from the message boards), but it really is a great series. Is it the most accurate? No, but it captures the spirit of the feud and the real tragedy that it was. Were the performances perfect? No. They rarely are. Was it shot in Romania? Yes, but I don't know the reasoning over that (probably money), so I'm not going to judge. No film is perfect, but this one is great and finally presents some actual HISTORY on The History Channel that has been sorely missed.