(5 / 5)
A ranching family in Montana faces off against others encroaching on their land.
Back in the 1970s, we had the TV show, “Dallas,” which told the story of the Ewing family and their company, Ewing Oil, and their constant struggles with outside competition, as well as within the family itself. Today, we have “Yellowstone,” an updated version of “Dallas” but set on the Yellowstone Ranch in Montana, owned and operated by the Dutton family, led by its patriarch, John Dutton (Kevin Costner). While the premise for each series is nearly identical, the Dutton family are far more brutal in their approach to opposition, sometimes resulting in prison time and, occasionally, murder. One can’t help but think had “Dallas” aired today, the Ewing family might have been just as ruthless as, if not more, than the Dutton family and had both families come into contact with each other, they might just have become best friends.
Yellowstone is the largest contiguous ranch in the United States and the Dutton family are constantly having to battle land developers who wish to set up hotels and golf courses which impede onto or right next to their land. Dan Jenkins (Danny Huston) is one of the Dutton’s biggest rivals as he has already built a sprawling golf course and hotel right next to them and Chief Thomas Rainwater (Gil Birmingham), the chief of the nearby Indian reservation, wishes to take control of their land and push them out altogether so he can build a hotel and casino in place of their ranch. Naturally, John Dutton has surrounded himself with his family, his son Jamie (Wes Bentley), the family’s attorney who has aspirations of becoming the state’s attorney general, and his daughter Beth (Kelly Reilly), a master manipulator who will destroy anybody her father points his finger at. John’s youngest son, Kayce (Luke Grimes), has married an Indian girl, Monica (Kelsey Asbille), a local teacher, and lives on the reservation with her and their young son, Tate (Brecken Merrill). Wanting to distance himself from his father and his manipulative ways, he avoids the ranch at all costs, but when his son Tate says he wants to get to know his grandfather, Kayce, initially hesitant, agrees, and occasionally visits the ranch with Tate to visit John.
As the show progresses, we come to understand the family as a whole, and individually. John’s wife, Evelyn (Gretchen Mol), who died years earlier in a tragic horse accident, in her dying breath, blamed young Beth, causing her to live her life filled with doubt, using alcohol as a way to numb the pain. Jamie is always available for his father but when he is nominated by the state’s outgoing attorney general to replace him and is only too happy to accept, the relationship with his father begins to unravel as he spends more and more time away from the ranch, working on his campaign instead of with his father. Kayce, a former US Navy SEAL, is having trouble trying to make ends meet on the reservation and seriously considers re-enlisting in the Navy so that his wife and son will be looked after but when Monica is involved in an accident at the school where she teaches and suffers a brain injury, he must consider moving back to the ranch in order to take care of them both.
Luke Grimes & Kelsey Asbille in Yellowstone (2018).
Rip Wheeler (Cole Hauser) is the ranch foreman and John’s right-hand man ever since John took him in as a troubled teenager and he has remained loyal to him ever since. As the ranch needs more men, Rip visits the local prison and gives just-released convicts a second chance at life, and the opportunity to make a new home for themselves, as long as they do whatever is asked of them by John, no matter what the task. And thus, the stage is set. Family tribulations, heartache, anguish, and a good dose of tragedy all mixed together, and what do you get? “Yellowstone.”
Writer/creator/director Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario,” “Hell or High Water,” “Wind River”) creates a family for the modern age, along with current economic issues and relevant concerns that we can all relate to, regardless of our societal status. Kevin Costner has never been better and he wisely surrounds himself with a top-notch cast, allowing each of them more than enough screen time to cultivate their character arcs and motivations. Everyone, from the show’s leads to a wonderful who’s who of supporting characters, shine when they are onscreen and help elevate the show exponentially. The cinematography of Montana’s beautiful wilderness by Ben Richardson is absolutely spectacular, foregoing any and all greenscreen, opting instead for real mountains and panoramic vistas, while composer Brian Tyler (“Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Iron Man 3”), creates a memorable theme tune that is luscious yet incorporates all the elements of the series in a mere 70 seconds. The entire show is a thundering success, filled with family strife, deception, and betrayal, and that’s before we even leave the ranch. The Hollywood Reporter recently stated that “Yellowstone” was cable’s most-watched TV series behind the AMC juggernaut, “The Walking Dead” and I would have to agree, it is such a welcome relief to all the conventional cop shows and legal dramas that seem to dominate the tube these days and I just hope when season 2 premieres later next year, more people will tune in to see exactly what they’ve been missing.
Now available on Blu-ray & DVD from Paramount Home Media Distribution
