executive produce and Scott pulls double-duty
as writer and director of an intimate odyssey
into the West, plotting a vigorous new path
through old terrain. Though an A-list
screenwriter, Frank hasn’t previously had
much commercial success as director — The
Lookout and A Walk Among The Tombstones
were both very fi ne, absorbing pictures few
saw — and Godless spent many years grazing
in Development Hell. But the wait has been
worth it for the weight — the story is told
over eight hours (split over seven episodes
of varying lengths) and wouldn’t have been
as engrossing as a fi lm, where its character
moments would have inevitably been cut
to the bone. And those moments are what
makes Godless sing: whether it’s the burgeoning
love affairs between supporting characters, the
town populated entirely by African Americans
(whose story we won’t spoil here), or simply
showing the process of “breaking” horses.
That sequence, taming mounts so they can
be ridden, informs at least three crucial
relationships, provides a sense of true character
and a lovely connection to the land. This is a
show that really loves the earth, even if it doesn’t
embrace the country — it knows what Americancan be at its best and what it is at its worst.
Daniels is mesmerising as the outlaw
leader with a twisted morality born out of his
own hurts. At fi rst it feels like he may become
a caricature of twisted Christianity, but there is
more depth and nuance here, just as there is in
the inhabitants of the town, with no-one — from
school teacher to doughty widow — quite what
they fi rst appear. Frank teases by tweaking
archetypes, presenting what feels familiar and
then skewing so you think again. The casting
is as superb as it is sometimes unexpected —
Thomas Brodie-Sangster as a fl ash deputy?
Downton Abbey’s Michelle Dockery as a tough,
sharp-shooting rancher? Both unlikely bullseyes.
Scoot McNairy is one of the best character
actors working today and gives his world-weary
sheriff a relatable humanity — he is just
desperate to be useful. Perhaps the biggest joy,
though, is to see Jack O’Connell as a fully fl eshed
out, rangy, American leading man. The
Derby-born Brit has excelled in ’71 and
Unbroken and has long had a feral charisma, but
here it’s marbled with tenderness — a character
saddled with regret, aiming for hope.
You can’t make a Western without recalling
the many classics of the genre and Godless is onAS SCREENWRITER, DIRECTOR
and executive respectively, Scott Frank, Steven
Soderbergh and Casey Silver brought us
the best-ever Elmore Leonard adaptation in
Out Of Sight. Two decades later they reunite,
with some seat-swapping: Silver and Soderbergh
CREATED BY Scott Frank
CAST Jack O’Connell, Jeff Daniels, Michelle
Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Thomas Brodie-Sangster,
Merritt Wever, Jeremy Bobb, Rob Morgan,
Sam Waterson
PLOT Wounded stranger Roy Goode (O’Connell) is
taken in by rancher Alice Fletcher (Dockery) on the
outskirts of a town populated mainly by women.
Unlikely bonds form, but it’s only a matter of time
before they must face a vengeful outlaw.
NETFLIX
OUT NOW
EPISODES VIEWED ALL★★★★★
GODLESS