Not the action of Yellowstone but the resonance of all Sheridan’s work
The Madison, the Paramount Television Studios production from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan, has emotional resonance that you cannot look away in Episode 1, but do not expect action for the rest. This is not Yellowstone. This is not Landman. This is not Lioness. This is a character-driven story that touches on human emotion and deep connection with no crime, politics, or big action scenes.
Streaming now, this neo-Western drama stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell. Pfeiffer’s performance is outstanding while the cinematography and styling are just as good. The two liked the idea of working together again after almost 40 years, having starred opposite each other in Tequila Sunrise. Sheridan wanted Russell badly, but because of scheduling conflicts, some of his scenes were shot out of sequence, with parts of Season 2 taking place before all of Season 1 was finished.
The story is about the wealthy Clyburn family from New York City. Pfeiffer plays Stacy Clyburn, a wealthy (and smart) New York matriarch, while Kurt Russell is her husband Preston Clyburn. It also stars Matthew
Fox as Paul Reese, Patrick J. Adams as eldest son Russ Clyburn, adult daughter Elle Chapman as Paige Clyburn, Beau Garrett as Abigail Reese, Amiah
Miller as Bridget Reese, Ben Schnetzer as Caleb Reese and Kevin Zegers as Jack Reese.
A tragedy happens, and this very New York family moves to the Madison River Valley, where they try to rebuild their lives while dealing with sadness and a new way of life.
The first episode was riveting. You could not help but put yourself in Pfeiffer’s shoes. The scene in the restaurant with her girlfriend having lunch is gut wrenching. Your heart was pulled into the screen imagining if you were her. Pfeiffer is outstanding and is definitely worthy of awards consideration, if not a winner.
This series was originally planned as part of the Yellowstone family but Paramount wanted it to stand on its own rather than be a spin-off and the story is a complete standalone. You do not have to have followed Sheridan’s other great series to follow this one.
Directed by Sheridan’s longtime collaborator Christina Alexandra Voros, who previously worked with him on Yellowstone, 1883, and Lawmen, The Madison focuses less on ranch conflicts and violence. Voros says the goal was to create an intimate series based on grief, family, personal relationships, and healing. What I liked very
much was its emotional openness. Many people will be able to relate to many scenes. Many will not and find it slow.
Pfeiffer’s character becomes a grieving matriarch, and the family is now broken. These wealthy New Yorkers are removed, maybe out of touch. At times their reactions feel predictable and stereotypical. But the emotion Pfeiffer displays brings it back on track. You can’t take your eyes off her.
The scenery is breathtaking. The camerawork extraordinary but the series does have many slow moments where you would like more if you can’t sit in it. For me, it was just perfect as far as that. Audiences have to remind yourselves that ‘character-driven’ means just. Look at it this way, those quiet moments allow you to breathe and to – feel it.
Taylor Sheridan is known for making his productions more like feature films than television and it shows and this one was no exception.
To land Michelle Pfeiffer, he took a nontraditional approach. He did not send her a script to read. Instead, he invited her to his ranch in Texas and told her the story
in person. He wanted her to understand the emotions of the role rather than read it alone.
Sheridan did not want soundstages for this series. He wanted authenticity, so much of it was filmed in Montana in the real place. He used Madison River Valley, along with its forests, rivers, and mountains. That is why the scenery is so exact and adds to the storytelling in a way that would not have worked otherwise. The scenery is another character. When filmmakers do this – it just makes everything better.
The production built the cabins and a large barn specifically for this series. What you see in the show was not there before the series was greenlit. Though this was brand new construction, they made sure they looked weathered, as though they had been there for more than a century.
The weather was tough during filming. Rain, cold, and high winds often forced production to stop. Wind, in particular, was a major challenge. Pfeiffer laughs when she says the production was not glamorous and called it ‘roughing it.’ She says some locations had no running water, no electricity, no air conditioning, and very few washrooms. She said the buildings looked great on camera, but they were not functional in the way actors
are normally used to. Though they ‘roughed it’, the cast says the set was relaxed and they bonded in down time.
Michelle carries this series as the lead. In fact, I do not think we would be talking about it today if it were not for her. She truly is doing some of her best work. Those cast as her children can come across as lacking depth and feeling too Gen Z and Millennial typical. That is no fault of their own, but rather a casting choice. Children with the complexity of the three in Succession would have been what was needed here to make this even better, in place of the polished, attractive characters who seem out of touch and not quite enough gravitas.
You will like this if you enjoy character pieces, stunning scenery, excellent shooting and editing, – it is worth it. As well, you will like it if you like a series that never really lets you know where it is going…or not going.
Definitely tune in. Elegant refined work. Taylor does it again.
