THE MADISON Review: Telling Tales of Love and Grief

Gather 'round. You're going to want to hear this.

The Madison
The first three episodes of the limited series debut Saturday, March 14, exclusively on Paramount Plus. The remaining three episodes will debut Saturday, March 21. I've seen all six episodes.

Taylor Sheridan has killed a lot of people in his films and television shows. It only seems right that his latest show plunges deeply into the subject of grief.

Starting with a role in Walker, Texas Ranger, Sheridan spent 20 years as a working actor before breaking out as a writer with his original script for Sicario (2015), followed by his Academy Award-nominated script for Hell or High Water (2016). His wrote and directed Wind River (2017), as critic Guillem Rosset astutely observed: "I know it sounds like a lame cliche, but on this movie the environment and landscapes become a character itself, thanks to the wonderful work of Ben Richardson as director of photography."

Soon thereafter, Yellowstone (2018-2024), Taylor Sheridan's first series created for television, debuted on cable only, causing a sensation when viewers discovered it as Paramount Network's first scripted series. Its success led to more series from producer Sheridan, a profusion that includes Mayor of Kingstown, Tulsa King, Lionness, Landman, not to forget the Yellowstone prequel/sequel series 1883 and 1923, respectively.

His dialogue style is distinctively brusque, and potent, favoring strong emotions emphasized in every measured word. Occasionally, key characters will be moved to spout artfully composed, epic bouts of cowboy poetry. Sometimes, arguments are expressed in a language known only to the participants. (See Landman and its many Byzantine discussions of oil drilling and leasing.) Words of love are exchanged with reserve, as though the lovers are reluctantly withdrawing funds from a Swiss bank account. Longtime friends and partners express their feelings with a nudge and a wink.

Taylor Sheridan's large body of work is marked by protagonists with a sure sense of themselves, people who prefer to take bold actions without defending themselves to anyone. Sometimes, they don't even bother to talk. They take action, watch their opponents fall, slip on their sunglasses, jam on a hat, and leave. Let someone else call an ambulance or a mortician. They live boldly and they love boldly, without apology.

His new series is described as a "heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana."

The headlining stars, Michelle Pfeiffer and Kurt Russell, are currently featured players in two different Apple TV series; Pfeiffer in Margo's Got Money Troubles, which enjoyed its world premiere last night at SXSW (my review) and will premiere on the streaming service next month, and Russell in the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (my review), which debuted recently. The Madison showcases their splendid talents as they essay two markedly different characters from their other series.

Preston Clyburn (Kurt Russell) is first seen fly-fishing amidst absolutely gorgeous Montana scenery, alongside his brother Paul (Matthew Fox). Preston is a Manhattan multi-multi-millionaire, while his brother is content with a simpler life.

Back in Manhattan, Stacy Clyburn (Michelle Pfeiffer) stays busy supporting her favorite charities, and mothering their older daughter, Abigail (Beau Garrett), recently divorced and caring for young daughters Bridgette (Amiah Miller) and Macy (Alaina Pollack), and younger daughter Paige (Elle Chapman), recently married to Russell (Patrick J. Adams).

Taylor Sheridan wrote all six episodes of the debut season, relying upon situations and scenes for his supporting characters that he has trotted out in just about every one of his previous series, which are treated with his particular sense of humor -- women are often embarrassed and run shrieking, sometimes baring their bottoms, while 'weaker' men are usually demeaned or dismissed -- while reserving languorous, soapy bathing scenes for his romantic leads (see Yellowstone, 1883).

It's true that Sheridan repeats certain scenes with only minor, historical-period variations, but it's also true that he allows his leading players to embody bigger-than-life, heroic characters, who are nonetheless empathetic and kind to others, highly protective of their loved ones, and flawed, but only to the extent that it makes them more heroic, as in responding to a prospective employer's inevitable question "what is your biggest flaw?" with the only possible answer: "I care too much."

Christina Alexandra Voros (Yellowstone, 1883, Lawmen: Bass Reeves) directed and simultaneously served as director of photography for all six episodes, which speaks to Sheridan's confidence in the ability of his cinematographers -- see Ben Richardson, above -- to also direct, fusing the visual style that's been developed in his work, filled with lush landscapes and hurried cityscapes and gorgeously-lit actors and wood cabins and elegantly furnished, luxurious lifestyles, which ultimately only serves as the background for the sharply-edged, crisp, and precise performances that illuminate the vividly-reckoned characters.

As with Taylor Sheridan's previous shows, The Madison is bolstered by an impeccably impressive cast. It feels like a story shared with good friends over a burning campfire in the wide open countryside on a warm night.