And, when it is all boiled down, it is all about the story-telling. How else does one explain taking a serviceable but hardly distinguished actor like Ian McShane (never heard of him before, have you?) And turn him in one short 12 episode series into a Golden Globe Award winner and a sex symbol, at least to some women. An actor who has been knocking around in films and TV since the late 70's and whose most recent “claim to fame” was as the villain in “Cody Banks: Secret Agent” has gone from C-list actor to A-list celebrity. And, baring an unknown talent transplant from Lawrence Olivier, it is the writing and the scripts and the storytelling that make the actor. And David Milch has done that with McShane, just as he did with Dennis Franz. [He did it with David Caruso as well but Caruso made the mistake of thinking it was actually he, himself, that made David Caruso a star. His career is only now recovering from that delusion.]
Equally important to Milch is that there are never "just" black and white characters, ever. There is never just clearly a bad and a good. Despite all his warts (alcoholism, spousal abuse, child abandonment, racism, etc., ad infinitum), Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) was one of the most beloved cops in television history. He was honest; he was real. And when you dug way, way down to the core of his human essence, he was a decent human. But, as Milch would have it, it takes a lot of digging to find that truth.
In Deadwood, the flawed hero is even more obscure in his humanity. He is the previously mundane and unrecognized Ian McShane as Al Swearengen. Swearengen was one of the founding fathers of Deadwood and runs the town with an iron fist and a sharp blade. When we are introduced to him in season one, he is a ruthless, conniving, murderous pimp who, by all appearances, would just as soon feed you to Mr. Wu's pigs (this method of disposal of one's enemies is story all unto itself) as steal your gold. But, as the episodes roll on we learn Al is not the Beelzebub he would have all those around him believe. He defends and employs a crippled housekeeper at the Gem Saloon and, while he bellows obscenities and humiliations at her almost hourly, he would cut the heart out of anyone who dared do the same. He demeans women regularly and enthusiastically in his saloon/brothel, but let anyone else offend his favorite (and possibly the only female he has ever loved) Trixie, and woe be unto him. When the local lay preacher falls terminally ill from a brain tumor and seizures, it is Al Swearengen who mercifully and, almost, tenderly, euthanizes him. In David Milch's world - as in ours - even the most vile humans have a glimmer of compassion, somewhere.
Article comments
1 - Aaman
Shouldn't this be under Video?
Fine post
2 - Eric Berlin
Somebody switched it over, Aaman.
3 - gonzo marx
watch Deadwood or i'll toss all you cocksuckers feet first into the woodchipper...
nuff said?
Excelsior!
4 - Eric Berlin
I don't get HBO and can only get three Netflix DVDs at a time, so Deadwood has been on my list for a while now. Trying to get through Carnivale Season One, then Sopranos Season Five, then...
If only the wife would stop insisting on mixing in a movie every now and again!
5 - Nicolette Rivers
I love this show. Swearengen is a character you can loathe and like in the same episode.
You can do a whole drinking game based on how many times they same "cocksucker" per episode.
6 - dietdoc
Nicolette write: You can do a whole drinking game based on how many times they same "cocksucker" per episode.
Reply: You would be pretty drunk after each show. (grin) Maybe one shot for every 5 for Al, and one shot for 3 from Jane and Trixie, and one shot per utterance of "cocksucker" from every one else. There would be a bonus of two shots for every utterance of the word from Alma or Seth. Keeping up with Al and Jane would be enough to put me under the table.
Al is the most lovable villain ever, IMHO. Just when you start to think he is totally corrupt, you see him do something so off character it is downright tender.
I just love the writing. It is truly becoming a lost art. And Milch has the touch. The scripts turn the whole cast of serviceable but ordinary actors into complete stars.
Stars are made from scripts and script choices not just talent. I watched one of our generation's best, DeNiro, recently in "Godsend." Even an actor of his quality couldn't save that crap. And then you think back to "Godfather II" and "Raging Bull." It's the writing, not the acting, that makes stars. And the script writing never gets enough credit.
Sorry for the tangent.
Cheers,
Ron
Cheers,
Ron
7 - Nicolette Rivers
If you really want to get drunk fast you do the drinking game during the episode called Mr Wu. That's the one where Wu is in Al's office trying to explain that someone stole the dope.
8 - dietdoc
Postscript:
Season 2 ended 05/22/2005 and the ending bodes well for the future of the series.
In the finale, Al gets what he wants from Yankton, Alma marries Ellsworth, Mr. Lee gets taken out by Mr. Wu (with a big assist from Al's henchmen), Mr. Hurst arrives (the only disappointment was his seemingly banal character), Mr. Wolcott is discovered by his employer (Mr. Hurst) and hangs himself and, to my great joy, Powers Booth (the evil Tolliver) gets gutted by the new preacher who earlier in the day married Alma and Ellsworth.
I am sure this make no sense to anyone who has not followed the series but it was a classic setup for Season 3 and I thought I would give it a notice in this thread. David Milch continues to excel in writing and the series remains a classic tale of the real old west.
Cheers,
Ron
9 - Temple Stark
From two weeks ago -- Blogcritics' editors liked this one. It's a pick of the week. Congrats. Put the news up proudly on your site.
Here's a link to the rest of this week's picks where we say why we chose 'em.
10 - Paul Dennis
For fans of the magnificent HBO Deadwood series there is a new source of all things Deadwood, both real and fictional -- The Real Deadwood Podcast. Hosted by Paul Dennis, it is a variety show from the real Deadwood in the Black Hills of South Dakota for fans of the award-winning Deadwood series all over the world combining interviews, entertainment and news from both Deadwoods.
11 - Jesse
long time coming but i love this show, three years since the last post uh oh, best drinking game, dress up like cowboys, (with a modern twist if you have to) take a shot when they cocksucker, or they themselves take a shot, choose a character and drink along with them. 4 or 5 of us all above 23 years of age up to 35 get sloppy with Deadwood classic, I can't wait to do it again.