Wednesday, June 22, 2005
INTO THE WEST: trying to balance internal & external plotlines
Year: 2005
Genre: Western miniseries, made for television
Cast: Matthew Settle, Simon R. Baker, Will Patton, Josh Brolin, Tonantzin Carmelo
Director: Robert Dornhelm
Writer: William Mastrosimone
Into the West: Wheel to the Stars begins the story of Jacob and Loved By the Buffalo, two very different young men whose paths finally intersect at the end of part one (of six). Jacob is the restless dreamer among a Christian family of wheelwrights in the American east. He runs away from home and joins up with Jedediah Smith, a fearless Christian mountain man leading the first American expedition into California.
Meanwhile, Loved By the Buffalo grows up among his Lakota family as a different kind of dreamer: a holy man. The visions he sees are scoffed at, and those among his people who feel threatened by his predictions turn into bitter enemies. As he becomes more and more socially isolated, he begins to doubt his visions and question his sanity.
The two men's stories basically represent two separate plotlines. Jacob's journey is more external and clearly carries the action as he battles hunger, imprisonment, and Indians on his quest deep into the west. His characterization, however heroic, feels a little thin. This is probably because his is a coming-of-age tale plunked down into an action plot, which is a slightly awkward pairing. He doesn't have a specific goal after he joins up with Smith, which happens relatively early in the story, and specific goals are absolutely necessary for an action plot. He winds up having plenty of adventures, but for the most part they are disconnected segments of action strung together on a shoestring of developing maturity. Since his internal development is what connects the plot events, it would have helped to spend a little more time fleshing out his doubts and fears. The time that could have been used to color in Jacob's internal landscape instead goes to Loved By the Buffalo...
Whose plotline in almost totally internal, and thus slides perilously close to boredom. The audience learns a great deal about Lakota spirituality (provided Hollywood is accurate in its portrayal), since that's what nearly every scene with Loved By the Buffalo is about. It's challenging for a writer to translate internal conflicts and doubts into visual symbols the audience (or readers) can hang their emotions onto. Into the West makes a bold attempt to accomplish this by materializing the spiritual realm Loved By the Buffalo is concerned with. A deceased mentor shows up often to counsel him in the physical form of a buffalo or wolf.
I can't help wondering what the viewer response would have been if Jacob's Christianity were visualized in the same fashion. Talking with light beings while crossing the Sierras, like the apostle Paul on his journey to Damascus... or communicating with a bush that's on fire but doesn't burn... or speaking in his native tongue while the listeners hear him in their own different language. All these things are documented in the Bible to have happened to believers. Why would these things seem strange for a Christian to experience in a prime time movie, but not so for practitioners of other religions, spiritual traditions, or ways of life?
Ultimately, Loved By the Buffalo's story would have benefited from an injection of action so the audience could better understand the external repercussions of his internal struggle. Jacob's story faired slightly better, and one may hope the next installment in the series will better balance both plotlines. (Though, I'm not holding my breath waiting for a burning bush.)
Genre: Western miniseries, made for television
Cast: Matthew Settle, Simon R. Baker, Will Patton, Josh Brolin, Tonantzin Carmelo
Director: Robert Dornhelm
Writer: William Mastrosimone
Into the West: Wheel to the Stars begins the story of Jacob and Loved By the Buffalo, two very different young men whose paths finally intersect at the end of part one (of six). Jacob is the restless dreamer among a Christian family of wheelwrights in the American east. He runs away from home and joins up with Jedediah Smith, a fearless Christian mountain man leading the first American expedition into California.
Meanwhile, Loved By the Buffalo grows up among his Lakota family as a different kind of dreamer: a holy man. The visions he sees are scoffed at, and those among his people who feel threatened by his predictions turn into bitter enemies. As he becomes more and more socially isolated, he begins to doubt his visions and question his sanity.
The two men's stories basically represent two separate plotlines. Jacob's journey is more external and clearly carries the action as he battles hunger, imprisonment, and Indians on his quest deep into the west. His characterization, however heroic, feels a little thin. This is probably because his is a coming-of-age tale plunked down into an action plot, which is a slightly awkward pairing. He doesn't have a specific goal after he joins up with Smith, which happens relatively early in the story, and specific goals are absolutely necessary for an action plot. He winds up having plenty of adventures, but for the most part they are disconnected segments of action strung together on a shoestring of developing maturity. Since his internal development is what connects the plot events, it would have helped to spend a little more time fleshing out his doubts and fears. The time that could have been used to color in Jacob's internal landscape instead goes to Loved By the Buffalo...
Whose plotline in almost totally internal, and thus slides perilously close to boredom. The audience learns a great deal about Lakota spirituality (provided Hollywood is accurate in its portrayal), since that's what nearly every scene with Loved By the Buffalo is about. It's challenging for a writer to translate internal conflicts and doubts into visual symbols the audience (or readers) can hang their emotions onto. Into the West makes a bold attempt to accomplish this by materializing the spiritual realm Loved By the Buffalo is concerned with. A deceased mentor shows up often to counsel him in the physical form of a buffalo or wolf.
I can't help wondering what the viewer response would have been if Jacob's Christianity were visualized in the same fashion. Talking with light beings while crossing the Sierras, like the apostle Paul on his journey to Damascus... or communicating with a bush that's on fire but doesn't burn... or speaking in his native tongue while the listeners hear him in their own different language. All these things are documented in the Bible to have happened to believers. Why would these things seem strange for a Christian to experience in a prime time movie, but not so for practitioners of other religions, spiritual traditions, or ways of life?
Ultimately, Loved By the Buffalo's story would have benefited from an injection of action so the audience could better understand the external repercussions of his internal struggle. Jacob's story faired slightly better, and one may hope the next installment in the series will better balance both plotlines. (Though, I'm not holding my breath waiting for a burning bush.)
