Spielberg Looks to the West
From: The Detroit Free Press, 6/10/2005
by: Mike Duffy
Steven Spielberg, king of the wild frontier?
OK, that was Davy Crockett.
But TNT will be perfectly happy if "Into the West" -- Spielberg's sweeping frontier saga -- merely makes him king of the summertime cable TV frontier.
The lavish, old-school miniseries, which colorfully explores the opening of the American West through the eyes of both settlers and American Indians, premieres at 8 tonight on TNT with the opening chapter of a rambling story that runs from 1825 to 1890.
So settle in for a spell because "Into the West" is sticking around for six weeks.
The primer on frontier history features hordes of buffalo and hordes of actors to fill an enormous cast. The cast runs the B-list name game gamut from Keri Russell to Skeet Ulrich and Rachel Leigh Cook to Sean Astin. It touches on such pivotal events as the California gold rush, the building of the transcontinental railroad and Little Big Horn.
But at heart, it's the intertwined personal tale of two families, one from Virginia and one whose members are part of the Lakota tribe.
Out on the Great Plains, a Lakota youth named Loved by the Buffalo (Simon R. Baker) begins his spiritual journey to become a medicine man. But he's still haunted by his childhood vision of a tribal elder who prophesied a dark future for the Lakota and their traditions.
Meanwhile, back east, Jacob Wheeler (Matthew Wheeler), the son of a family of Virginia wheelwrights, decides to head west and find a new life. He initially joins up with legendary mountain man Jedidiah Smith (Josh Brolin) and his men. But eventually, Jacob will meet and marry Thunder Heart Woman (Tonantzin Carmelo), sister of Loved by the Buffalo.
Along the way, as "Into the West" unfolds in two-hour chapters at 8 p.m. each Friday (with encores at 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays), Jacob Wheeler's brother Jethro (Ulrich) and cousin Naomi (Russell) join him on the rugged trek westward.
Though Spielberg is best known as the superstar movie director of such Hollywood blockbusters as "Jaws," he has often dabbled in smaller screen storytelling projects as an executive producer. He previously put his high-quality miniseries mark on World War II with HBO's "Band of Brothers" as well as the paranormal topic of alien abduction with the Sci-Fi Channel's "Taken."
On "Into the West," Spielberg and a large crew of writers, producers and directors, channel a bit of the spirit of "Dances with Wolves" along with just about every other western saga you can name.
The miniseries has been fashioned as a family entertainment, so don't expect "Deadwood" darkness and rough language. There are more than a few heartwarming Hallmark moments. But there's also an edge of honest frontier realism to the story, one inevitably touched by bloody tragedy as the cultures of white settlers and American Indians collide.
Although "Lonesome Dove" still reigns supreme as the greatest western miniseries ever, the rich, visually impressive "Into the West" is another sort of frontier epic. It tries to jam in nearly seven decades' worth of tumultuous history while telling the stories of two large families. At times, it merely skims the surface of events while offering characters who lack any real emotional complexity.
But there's also plenty to like about "Into the West." It has its big, entertaining heart in the right place.