bak5557

Okay. Only 4 episodes in, but I had to write this review. I'm thinking, 'this might be lightening in a bottle'. One of those surprise gems that works on all levels. Not a big-name cast, so probably not a big budget. It still has time to go off the rails. Either way, I'm in for the ride.

This is a great movie if you are a fan of Kevin Bacon for the quirky and very varied roles he chooses. The Bondsman works entirely because of Kevin Bacon. Not saying the other actors aren't very good; Damon Kerriman does one of the best Boston accents ever - and that one is hard to get right! He's better than Matt Damon

But that should come as no surprise, given that this Aussie nailed the Appalachian Kentucky accent as Dewey Crowder in Justified.

And the women really pull their weight here, too, and they get stronger through the series. I have a feeling that I am not giving them enough credit in this review.

But, if anyone could make this movie seem normal or believable - like this is really how a guy would act in this situation - it's Kevin Bacon. Just a regular dude with a rough life who's lost everything but his ironic sense of humor, who just rolls with another twist of fate. Because, what else you going to do? I'll say it again, The Bondsman works entirely because of Kevin Bacon.

Fair warning, it is pretty gory, but that's in the rating. It's also got some really funny lines, and some very deep human moments.

By the time I finished writing this I was about to start episode 6. Yup! This is great. Very unexpected, and I'm loving it in.

BillyBob Thornton can just about do no wrong in my book, but this show is stretching my faith in his and John Hamm's acting. The true standout is the kid who plays Cooper (Thornton's son in the show) - Jacob Lofland.

But the women! Good lord they are awful. Terrible acting delivering terrible lines and the whole dad hanging around while his teenage daugher and ex-wife compete half-naked for his attention in beyond creepy. I'm really disappointed that Thornton didn't have the forsight to exercise some influence over the script. It makes me wonder if he thinks this stupid story line makes him seem more verile. I'm hoping the writers read all these reviews and make some changes to whatever is left to be written.

That's 10 minutes I won't get back. I was going to give it five stars for the effort, but the only 'effort' was the beautiful location and 'inspired cinematography'. All the stuff that the other review put about it being a powerful story about lonliness and truth makes me assume that the other reviewer is somehow involved with the film or is related to someone who is. To me the story was about a crabby old man who has to be increidbly lonely who has a chance to maybe be less lonely but he blows it in 10 minutes by being a mean old bastard. Is that what is meant by powerful story of love and truth?