The characters reconvened in a camp long since citified.
The film covered one hectic weekend: a birth, a death, a funeral, a wedding.
Christ Himself only ever accomplished the first three.
Credit: Warrick Page/HBO
Obvious problems withDeadwood: The Movie, necessitating minor admonition and a complete plot exposition.
(Watch the movie before reading further and do kindly watch it.)
The radical drama returned as a conventional cast reunion.
The mood was convivial, some victories cheap.
Whereas dear old Al softened under a paternal glow, a whoremonger too kindly to sample his own product.
Anyhow, that critical business over with: This movie is a gift, and a fond farewell.
I love Milchs writing, his loquacious waterfall.
(I figured out what Yankton was sometime mid-season 2.)
But the language is so joyful, and the performances so committed.
Necessary apologetic [sic] addended to that and all quotations in this review.
Be not afraid, potential viewers!
The original series is one of the great artistic endeavors of this century.
From his plot, Utter could see the long lineup of telephone poles Hearst was building across the wilderness.
But he wasnt done talking; nobody onDeadwoodever was.
A man might could come to a certain special feeling, he said.
Partial, say, to a piece of ground.
A river bending through the forest, like so.
And then Utter told Hearst he got motherfed in the thoroughfare.
To which Hearst responded: Proffering that assessment, sir, is hardly your proper bailiwick.
But the dreamy sweetness of Utters words stuck with me.
Easy to guess that Charlie knew he was signing his own death warrant, refusing Hearst.
Easy to imagine that knowledge freed him even more.
A Walk in the Valley.
Joyful to hear and behold.
(It took around nine minutes for someone to say csucker.)
Jane and Joanie (Kim Dickens) fought briefly, then walked off happy.
Alma (Molly Parker) returned with a grown-up Sofia (Lily Keene).
Alma and Seth had brief, only-ever-implicit rekindling moments.
MilchsAlzheimers diagnosisleant impossible poignance to Als own health problems, and to this whole project.
The real Deadwood burned in 1879, historical reality that beckoned the original series toward conclusive brimstone.
But the scope ofDeadwood: The Moviewon me over.
(You ever think, Bullock, of not going straight at a thing?
I shed a tear near the end watching Bullock arriving in the doorway of his house.
Whereas Bullock told his wife, Im home, and kissed her.
How lovely to hear Jewel (Geri Jewell) sing Al beyond with Waltzing Matilda.
So Samuel told Bullock about Charlie Utter singing right as Jewel started singing to Al.
So Bullock held Samuels hand mere minutes before Trixie held Als.
The very first image ofDeadwood: The Movieshows a train railroading toward a onetime frontier town.
Its a visual shock on multiple levels.
Narratively, it marks the arrival of 19th-century transportation technology.
For us viewers, that image reflects 21st century film technology, the train rendered in not-quite-convincing CGI.
Hearst as Silicon Valley, discuss.
Hearst as Netflix, ponder.
Hearst asThe Bosss Boss at HBO Demands Narrative Optimization for the Mobile Environment, gag.
Hearst himself had a soliloquy around this business, delivered impromptu to E.B.
Farnum (William Sanderson).
Every business, Mr. Farnum, in this territory thrives as a direct result of communication.
Now, weve no say as to the pace of modernitys advance.
I myself am merely its vessel, a humble foot soldier.
He blathered on, but Farnum wasnt listening.
Advanced age caused wanton leakage in his bladder, see possibly Milchs roundabout way of pissing on modernity.
Seems Im the lone holdout on the path of progress, Utter told Hearst.
He held out until progress killed him.
But there are still still!
rivers bending through forests, joyful to hear and to behold.
Lets figure out what to do with that land, Alma told Sofia.
Yes, lets.B+
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