Common Sense Media Review
By Jenny Nixon
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
So-so Western is well-acted but moves at a snail's pace.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Godless
What's the Story?
Set among the dusty vistas of 1880s New Mexico, GODLESS follows demented outlaw Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) on a bloodthirsty hunt for his former partner, Roy Goode (Jack O'Connell), who betrayed him during a train robbery gone wrong. Roy holes up at the ranch of the headstrong widow Alice Fletcher (Michelle Dockery), who harbors him in exchange for his horse-training skills. Frank's ruthless quest for retribution leads him to the strange town of La Belle, whose populace is made up almost entirely of women, due to a mining accident that killed most of their able-bodied males.
Is It Any Good?
The marketing for this show focused so much on the female-heavy cast -- the tagline is "Welcome to No Man's Land," even -- that one could be forgiven for assuming it would center on the women of La Belle, the mysterious town in the middle of it all. However, it's still very much a traditional Western, wherein macho outlaws and misunderstood gunslingers are given the limelight, while the female characters exist mainly to react to stuff. It's well-acted, to be sure -- Merritt Wever's no-nonsense, trouser-clad Mary Agnes is a notable standout -- but it would have been nice to see the women's stories move forward and take shape without the toxic masculinity we've already seen so many times before in this genre serving as their catalyst.
The pace is maddeningly slow, perhaps due to the fact that Godless was originally conceived as a movie but was stretched out into a seven-episode series once it was sold to Netflix. There's promise here, however, and the show may hopefully find its footing with a second season that focuses less on repetitive scenes of horse training and generic henchmen being threatening, and more on the backstory of La Belle and the dynamics between its inhabitants.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way violence is used in Godless. Does it seem necessary to the story, or is it gratuitous?
Mining accidents like the one in Godless really did happen back in the day, and women would be forced to move on to another town, or stay and rebuild. What kind of challenges do you think a situation like this would present for women, especially given their limited rights during this time? Do you think Godless did a good job portraying the reality of such an ordeal?
TV Details
- Premiere date : November 22, 2017
- Cast : Michelle Dockery , Sam Waterston , Jeff Daniels , Scoot McNairy , Thomas Brodie-Sangster , Merritt Wever
- Network : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : June 6, 2021
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