“At the Dawn of America”, on Netflix: a dark, violent, but convincing western

You have to have a strong heart. Bear seeing throats slit, disemboweled bodies hanging, raw wounds, blood spurting. “At the Dawn of America”, which arrives this Thursday, January 9 on Netflix, is not a lace. Even if the scenes of killings and massacres, frankly redundant, are not always necessary, this series by Peter Berg on the pioneers of the Wild West seduces us.

Behind this bloody western, which will attract fans of “Yellowstone”, hide two veterans of action films: screenwriter Mark L. Smith (“The Revenant”, “The Swamp King’s Daughter”) and Peter Berg at the directing (“Blood and Tears”, “22 Miles”, “Deepwater”).

But wars rage, between the indigenous peoples angry at being dispossessed of their lands, the Mormon militias, angry and merciless in extending their influence, and the federal army, which is struggling to maintain order. among the thugs.

Striking realism

Sarah quickly understands: you can’t trust anyone and here, it’s every man for his own skin. She will meet Isaac Reed, a rough and taciturn man who knows the area like no other, and finally agrees to accompany her.

In these six episodes, the atmosphere is heavy, the realism is striking and we are often afraid, surprised numerous times by yet another assault, a bullet or an arrow coming to restart hostilities. Because there, in this country of mud, dirt, and dust, people kill for nothing. The massacre scenes follow one another and are a little too similar.

But we are carried away by this story, into grandiose landscapes and the destinies that intersect there. The luminous presence of Taylor Kitsch (“Friday Night Lights”) and Betty Gilpin (“The Hunt”), partners in trouble whose hearts are slowly opening, has a lot to do with it.

The women play truly beautiful roles, both that of Sarah, a courageous mother with impressive strength of character, as well as those of Abish, a mistreated young Mormon, or even an indigenous tribal leader. They are the real heroines demanding peace between people in the face of secret and abject violence.