The Red Road

With soooo much absolute crap that's on-screen, it's a damn shame when a fairly decent program gets canceled just as it's starting to get legs. This was never going to be a mainstream show, but for those taking the time to get into it.. it was well worthwhile. Was the story a bit slow at first, and more convoluted than need be.. maybe. But it did not insult its' audience intelligence with pablum BS junk. Far from it.. and as far as the acting goes, this was as good a group as you will find in any decent TV drama today (and Julianne Nicholson was brilliant). Without a doubt the script had weaknesses, but not many ever do not. Actors that get cut off at the knees when shows get dropped are hurt the most. They pour themselves into their work, and are then forced to walk away before the job gets accomplished. Would just like to let them know their efforts were well appreciated, and it's seriously regretful shortsighted minds had control of the overall process. Bravo to those involved for those two very good seasons.

watching The Red Road is like patiently watching fog lift before your eyes. little by little we see the shape of the story and depths of these characters unveiled. father and son Kopus, Marie, Jean, and Harold are the most fascinating to discover. they are each deliciously multi-layered.

i think the direction, editing and acting are close to excellent because each scene is drawn out to perfect measure to increase tension or allow for emotional saturation. the only drawback for me so far are the segments dedicated to the star-crossed teenage lovers who may become irksome as forced interjections of sweetness in what would otherwise be a properly moody atmosphere of familial and racial turbulence.

somehow, i like the moody brooding atmosphere of this show. i'm transported by the stillness of the wide shots of woods, lakes and open fields. it's easy to become invested in the place and characters. there is no rush and i like that too. each word is measured, except of course with the character of Jean who is a force of nature in herself, so much so that her ramblings make you dizzy --awesome Julianne Nicholson. Jason Momoa and Tom Sizemore make sinister look good. Martin Henderson is a revelation for me because I have never found him to be particularly impressive. it is also so good to see Tamara Tunie in a completely different light (literally) from her drab post on L&O:SVU.

but if you're looking for weekly action, blood, profanity, sex, and breakneck speed...you won't get much of that here. meanwhile, i am enjoying the slow reveal of illicit activity, emotional disturbance and family drama. i think it's definitely a worthy watch.

I may have a man crush on Momoa so this might be bias but I stumbled on this gem and can't believe that season 3 wasn't made. The acting was pretty solid, writing was really good. I don't usually watch basic cable shows because they come off pretty corny but there were very few of those moments and got pretty tricky in season 2. I didn't know it was canceled until i was almost finished watching season 2, which made it freaking horrible that i got emotionally attached for no fudging reason. Still, was great show

I am not that familiar with Sundance's television programming up to this point, but when I learned that Jason Momoa was going to be in a dramatic series about race relations between a First Nation people and the white community I was fairly excited. For one, it seemed like Momoa would finally get an opportunity to demonstrate his acting ability. He is often characterized as a very wooden actor, but I think that is more that he is rarely given much to work with besides be big and unsettling. Secondly, it addresses racial issues that often go ignored in fiction in favor of more visible issues.

So far the acting overall is fairly good, although Julianne Nicholson's performance in the first season of Masters of Sex far outshines her work in this first episode. The direction and editing are competent. It is too early yet to tell how good the writing is going to get, but so far the show is quite engrossing and has the potential to be a great show.

In the wake of the recent wrap up of Breaking Bad and the thoroughly impressive True Detective, The Red Road may seem a bit light weight but the brief episode order (6 eps) and rather uncommon setting and perspective show a lot of promise for improvement.

This is great filming.. Great casting... Believable. And Jason momoa...