As I have been waiting a long time for a show like MINDHUNTER, I have also really been long awaiting a gritty, violent, character driven western series.  Netflix has delivered again.  GODLESS is a phenomenal series that is fueled by a well-executed vision from the creatives and the actors that were involved.  Jeff Daniels.  Jeff Fucking Daniels.  I’ll get to him later.  I can understand the criticism beyond the release of this series but I think it was mostly due to the artistic nature of the show.  There are a lot of “beauty shots” as I like to call them.  Shots and scenes that may not move the story forward according to some, but work more as a scene setter or a calm before the storm.  Sometimes they work and sometimes they are excessive and can butcher a good film or series.  In my opinion, GODLESS nailed it.  It is a western.  You have to embrace the atmosphere and lose yourself in a show like this.  Don’t go into it with expectations except to be engulfed into a deep story about some lovable characters and some undesirable ones; because you will be pleasantly surprised by how much you end up appreciating this show for what it is.

GODLESS is another Netflix original that found its way on there probably because of some of the points that I brought up earlier.  It was a slow building story that was artistically shot and may not have not been as popcorn friendly as most Network television shows.  But if you stay along for the ride and all 7 episodes, it pays off.  The character building is nearly 5 stars in itself as I found myself really enjoying Roy Goode as the protagonist.  Jack O’Connell kills his performance and throughout, Roy becomes more and more interesting.  But Jeff Daniels stole the show as he plays one of my new favorite villains to date, “Frank Griffin”.  Frank is a seasoned outlaw that preaches to the lost souls that he encounters along his travels and takes them in as family.  I love the way he portrayed this character and gave him this Godly aura in a world that is for a lack of better word… Godless.  Roy Goode was just a boy running off by himself after his brother left him for California, when Frank found him and took him in as a son for himself.  Roy of course, grew up to be a part of the Frank Griffin gang, but this story takes place immediately after Roy abandons him years later.  This is where shit gets fun.  Roy runs off into hiding and finds himself in the city of LaBelle, New Mexico.  This city is mysteriously made up of almost entirely women.  So many interesting stories collide at this point while so many great characters are introduced.  Characters like Whitey Winn, Bill McNue, Alice Fletcher and of course the disturbingly entertaining gang of Frank Griffin.  There is so much to unwrap when it comes to this show, but I believe you will be hooked after the first episode.

If I had any criticism at all, it would be a few minor things not even worth mentioning. Some scenes may have lasted a little long but as I said before, don’t let that cloud your experience.  I really do not want to get much more into it because it is one hundred percent worth a watch, as I give it 4-stars.  It could have easily been a 5-star series, but there was room for it to be better in my opinion.  Jeff Daniels alone makes this a 4-star show but there was much more to it than that.  I would recommend this to anyone who has a pulse and enjoys westerns.  

Inspiration is in everyone and everything.

Nick