At the Dawn of America: the Netflix western in the footsteps of The Revenant

Peter Berg explores a merciless Wild West where survival comes at a high price, in this brutal and sublime fresco by Mark L. Smith.

The conquest of the West told like a hell of ice and blood. The glamorous cowboys of the Golden Age have lived and Hollywood now paints the Wild West with an unfiltered naturalistic painting. With At the Dawn of Americathe director Peter Berg (Blood and tears) plunges us a little deeper into the depths of this cruel and primal Wild West. And from the first images, it's impossible not to think of The Revenant ofAlejandro G. Iñárritu. Nothing surprising since Mark L. Smiththe screenwriter of the Oscar-nominated film, is also the creator of the Netflix miniseries. And this is felt in each scene of this harsh fresco (in 6 episodes), which tells the story of the great frozen spaces of Utah, scene of a merciless struggle for survival. In this territory claimed by the growing Mormon community, we also find relocated Indian tribes on a war footing, trigger-happy settlers and simple pioneers in search of a better life in the west of the country. nascent. Passing through this deadly scene, a mother and her young son will try to make their way without leaving their skins behind.

Here, the conquest of the West is stripped of all romanticism. Peter Berg And Mark L. Smith share a terrifying vision of this era: that of a barely civilized humanity, where violence reigns supreme. Murders, rapes, betrayals and summary executions punctuate a story that makes no compromise. Even the landscapes, sublime and stifling at the same time, seem to take part in this tragedy.

A breathtaking photograph

The series particularly shines with its sumptuous photography, which summons the gray and oppressive light of a perpetually heavy sky. Each shot seems to be bathed in a menacing chiaroscuro, a striking contrast between the wild beauty of nature and the darkness of the souls that pass through it. An aesthetic choice which supports a resolutely tragic narrative, where death always seems to lurk in the shadows. Mark L. Smith here revisits his obsessions: man facing an indomitable nature, and above all facing himself. In this Wild West, there are no heroes and no salvation. Taylor Kitsch embodies a gunslinger without emotion, a taciturn Clint Eastwood-like figure facing Betty Gilpin (former star of GLOW), fragile incarnation of feminine strength in the heart of a patriarchal and destructive world, personified by the local Mormons. The series does not hesitate to paint a chilling portrait of Brigham Young (historical figure of the movement), while it retraces a little-known and spectacular episode of the conquest of the West: the Utah War (1857-1858) during which Mormon settlers attempted to evade the laws of the fledgling United States federal government.

At the Dawn of America tells the era in a visceral way, and is part of a tradition of modern westerns which refuse the mythology of an idealized West, in the manner of what The Revenant knew how to do it so well. But like The Revenantthe story also suffers from great lengths and tends to trample in the powder, while Taylor Kitsch And Betty Gilpin struggle again and again in the rocky mountains. The series ends up going in circles and, as after The Revenantwe end the adventure washed out, but with some decidedly striking sequences in mind.

At the Dawn of America, 6 episodes, to watch on Netflix on January 9, 2025.