Peter Berg Shows the Ugly Side of American History With Frustrating “American Primeval” | TV/Streaming

Director Pierre Berg‘s works alternate between wholesome American stories and completely unhinged chauvinism. Over the past decade, this latter side has appeared in films like “Lone Survivor” “Patriots Day”, and even “Mile 22“, portraying marginalized groups or non-Americans as savages and manipulating audience affection by killing off “noble” heroes. For Berg, it’s America first, and Taylor Kitsch or Mark Wahlberg, depending on the project, second.

Just when it seemed that Berg had displayed some variation in diversions like “Spenser Confidential” And “Analgesic“, he regressed with writer/creator Mark L. Smith on the frustrating and repugnant historical Western miniseries “American Primeval.”

In 1857, in Utah, Sara Rowell (Betty Gilpin) and her son Devin (Preston Mota) arrive at a trading post, looking for a guide to take them to Cooks Springs, Alabama, to meet her husband. Only a few minutes pass before the guys pull out their shotguns and graphically kill each other over a miscommunication. After about five people are murdered, Sara finds a guide in a reluctant tracker named Isaac (Taylor Kitsch).

Around the same time, a young Native woman named Two Moons (Shawnee Pourier) flees her Shoshone tribe after killing a man who tried to rape her. She stows away in the back of Rowell’s cart, and although Devin finds her, he lets her stay.

At a Mormon settler commune in Mountain Meadows, Sara crosses paths with other travelers, including a husband-wife duo named Jacob (Dane DeHaan) and Abish (Saura Lightfoot-Leon) Pratt. Instantly, they find themselves at the epicenter of a war between a hooded local militia and the Paiute Native American tribe. Sara, Isaac and Devin, as well as Two Moons, who eventually reveals herself to the group, survive, but Sara has received a bounty for her troubled past.

The Pratts have it worse: Jacob finds himself barely surviving the death and search for Abish who was kidnapped by the Paiutes. Abish, barely surviving the murder of the Paiutes, is traded to the Shoshone, under the leadership of Red Feather (Derek Hinkey), who integrates her into their community. In the midst of all this, Brigham Young (Kim Coates), president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and leader of the Mormon militia, also looms beyond, trying to persuade his faithful followers to conquer all spaces along the west trail.

Seth MacFarlane says in “A million ways to die in the West“, “The American West is a disgusting, horrible, dirty and dangerous place. Everything here that isn’t you wants to kill you. That’s the vibe of Berg’s show. The amount of gratuitous killing contained in the first episode seems almost comical. Each community is depicted as being equally savage – in the manner of “bad men on all sides” – all carrying out numerous grotesque methods of murder. Berg, who directed all six episodes, returns to his 2010s self, almost gleefully depicting graphic violence on everyone, including young children, for shock value.

Smith creates a world of cruel nature running on pure aggression with little room for subtlety, as the three main plots take a back seat to the violence. The constant bombardment of gratuitous violence in every other scene affects the pacing and makes an episode feel like a complete chore to digest. Even Smith’s dialogue strives to be distressing, as many scenes involve people throwing expletives at each other to the extent that it feels like they’re using modern vernacular.

“Primeval” works best when it focuses on the Rowells’ dangerous journey to Alabama. Amid the violence around them, there is a legitimate and well-developed dynamic between Gilpin’s Sara and Kitsch’s Isaac. Kitsch is good at depicting this tough, cold-hearted but secretly caring character, drowned in grief but determined to survive. Gilpin delivers a commendable performance as Sara, a character who demonstrates chameleon-like patience and power to transform into a formidable threat when necessary. She’s also the only character who feels fresh in a sea of ​​familiarity. Despite the titular Primeval’s predicament, Sara is the only person to show restraint and humanity. But when it’s necessary to lock in at the height of Devin’s peril, Gilpin’s shift to ferocity is frightening and truly cathartic.

Overall, “American Primeval” plays like it copied a test from a smarter kid but still failed. I’m not even a big Taylor Sheridan fan, but there’s at least a balance between his tough portrayal of America and good character writing. Berg wants people to think his crude, bloody approach is historically accurate, when in fact it’s a manipulative survival story that’s as vapid as it is hollow.

All six episodes were watched for review. Now on Netflix.