Deadwood: the film review – IGN

By Jim Vejvoda

Deadwood: The Movie will air on HBO on May 31 (8:00 pm ET).

About 13 years after the cancellation of the award-winning HBO series, Deadwood finally gets the conclusions that its creators, actors and fans have long been waiting in the form of a feature film. And although this film is not considered one of the best episodes of the series, this film is nevertheless a fitting and moving farewell to Deadwood and his cast of morose and complex characters, rich in words and words.

A decade after the events of the last episode, Deadwood: The Movie resumes operations in 1889, while South Dakota becomes the 40th state of the Union. An American senator came to town to commemorate this momentous occasion … George Ambrose Hearst (played with the sinister resolution of Gerald McRaney), the same rich and powerful villain who made fun of Deadwood in season 3.

The return of Hearst reopens old wounds for the surviving inhabitants of Deadwood. He now has political power – and ruthless gunmen – to protect him as he pursues his own personal agenda in town under the guise of an official visit. Could the inhabitants, who were so often in conflict with each other in the past, unite to confront a common enemy and protect their community?

The crime that drives citizens to take action takes some time – about 40 minutes after the movie starts, but it leaves at least the time for viewers to catch up with their old friends when they are aware of the show or You are new to Deadwood, to get an idea of ​​the time and place (and its signature, dense theatrical dialogue) before the guns start to burn. And this time and place are changing. As we say more than once in the film, the future is imminent and we can not stop it. The question is whether the citizens of Deadwood will go or not.

(In what might be perceived by some as a cheeky nod to HBO, which now belongs to the telecommunications giant AT & T, the future of this film is symbolized by the arrival of the phone It is the era of information at its embryonic stage, but it is probably also a reality – a metaphor for the evolution of the entertainment industry, which is becoming more and more more dominated, even engulfed, by technology-driven conglomerates.)

Hearst is not the only character to return to Deadwood after a long absence. Alma Ellsworth (underused Molly Parker) and Calamity Jane (Robin Weigert, who steals the stage) are back for heart issues, even though the former makes it a bank affair. Alma's longing for married sheriff Seth Bullock (a grayer, even sharper Timothy Olyphant) is not the film's most powerful side plot – it ultimately plays a key role in the plot – while Jane's attempts to redeem herself with Joanie Stubbs (Kim Dickens) carries more weight as there is actually a place for their characters to go. Jade Pettyjohn, the new prostitute of Gem Saloon, the new prostitute of Gem Saloon, is doing a good job even if her new face does not have much to advance the story.

Charlie Utter, Martha Bullock, Dan Dority, Farnum, Wu, Johnny, Jewel, Doc Cochran, Sofia – but the film finally turns around Trixie (the hard but tender Paula Malcomson) and Sol Starr (John Hawkes), stunned to wait the parents at their age, as well as the two main main roles of the ensemble, Bullock's stubborn lawyer and the shady but not insensitive salon owner, Al Swearengen (the always captivating Ian McShane). It is through these complex and multi-faceted characters that Deadwood: The Movie – and its screenwriter and creator of the David Milch series – explores the most fascinating and emotionally effective elements.

The sickness, the regrets, the guilt, the true proverbial love that has escaped – all these elements come into play here since Bullock and Swearengen each carry the weight of the future and count with the sins of the past. This resolution is not as bleak as it may seem; Deadwood: The Movie is not sweeter than the series that inspired it, it is certainly more optimistic or at least open to the concept of happiness. If I had to equate this with something familiar or formula, it would be a "Christmas episode" of a TV show, where happiness is at hand (and there's even a nice song and some snowfall towards the end).

All of this is a bittersweet expedition that Deadwood might have hoped for, even though his final line is the backdrop for such maudlin sentimentality, a gruff rebuke that sums up everything the layman and belligerent have provoked. for fans to fall in love. with this historical show there are all these years.