Reviewing ”Godless”: A slow-burn Western drama with excellent performances

Godless is a Western drama series. It stars Jack O'Connell, Michelle Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Merritt Wever, and Jeff Daniels. Jack O'Connell plays outlaw Roy Goode who stumbles into the mining town of La Belle. Michelle Dockery plays Alice Fletcher, a widowed rancher living on the outskirts of the town; Scoot McNairy plays Sheriff Bill McNue, the burdened lawman doing his best to enforce the law in La Belle; and Merritt Wever plays Mary-Agnes McNue, Bill's sister and the de-facto mayor of the town. Jeff Daniels plays villainous gang leader Frank Griffin, who seeks only to hunt down Roy and get revenge for Roy's abandonment of his gang.

The plot is simple, being more of a slow-burn build-up of relationships up to the climactic final confrontation, much like 11.22.63, another period drama I previously reviewed. Roy spends most of his time helping to raise Alice's son and manage Alice's horses, doubtlessly hoping to rest and escape from his outlaw past. Bill spends much of the middle part of the series wandering in the desert, hoping to find reinforcements to stave off Frank Griffin and his gang as he will surely burn La Belle to the ground for harboring the fleeing Roy. La Belle seems to be at a particular disadvantage since almost all the men in the town were killed in a mining accident, and a mining company that offers to help reopen the mine seems to be more concerned with exploiting profits than the welfare of the women there. All the while, Frank Griffin led his gang across the desert, searching everywhere for Roy to kill him and everyone close to him.

The acting is impeccable and the characters are fully realized. Jack O'Connell plays the well-meaning and compassionate Roy Goode very well, showing that he was a gentle man with a kind heart and a genuine desire to help people despite his outlaw past. Alice Fletcher, played by Michelle Dockery, has clearly been through a lot of tragedy in her life, and but she is nevertheless determined to make the most of what she has, and her iron will comes across perfectly thanks to Dockery's performance. By the same token, McNairy and Wever give great performances, being resolute in their efforts to stop Frank's gang preemptively and maintain the townsfolk's independence respectively, showing how they are generally good and kind-hearted people who are dedicated to the town and its residents

Jeff Daniels is a true standout, proving himself to be a versatile veteran actor, playing the evil gruff criminal Frank Griffin, and providing what could have easily been a straightforwardly unredeemable villain with some much-needed nuance. Daniels gives Frank layers of depth in both his backstory, which is largely done through a lengthy yet enthralling monologue, and his occasional acts of relative kindness, showing the for all the man's crimes, he was not a completely soulless person even though he does kill for the sake of killing and recruit aimless youths in personal crises into his gang to bolster its numbers, making gang members treat him like a father figure only to ensure their loyalty to him. His cruelty is unbelievable, but he does not come off as a cartoonish caricature of an evil outlaw, being a complex yet ultimately repulsive killer.

The title sequence was also very well done, using the contrast between light and shadow (chiaroscuro) to highlight various silhouettes of objects, items and people relevant to the events of the series, such as guns, snakes, nooses, and the outlines of Roy Goode and Alice Fletcher.

All in all, Godless is a fantastic series, featuring excellent performances, fascinating characters, and a plot that relied on slowly building up tension and character relationships until the climactic finale.

Score:8/10