One element sadly
overlooked would have elevated the footage to perfection: the
miles of treeless prairie that set the scene for the original
railroad shanty towns where the name Hell on Wheels stuck has
a distinctly different feel than the rainy plains of Calgary,
Canada (for those of you city slickers, just think of Dances
with Wolves and you'll find yourself reminded of how the
sun and wind ripples through the prairie).
The show's synopsis
is simple and straight forward "Hell on Wheels is
a contemporary Western that centers on former Confederate soldier
Cullen Bohannon, portrayed by Anson Mount, whose quest for vengeance
has led him to the Union Pacific Railroad's westward construction
of the first transcontinental railroad."
As Cullen struggles
with his war demons, his dark charisma pulls us into incredibly
rich tapestries to meet up with historical characters whose greed,
passion, sweat and blood built the Transcontinental Railroad.
Thomas Clark Durant, portrayed by Colm Meaney, was the real life
railroad tycoon who founded the Missouri & Mississippi Railroad
in 1854 and proceeded to make a fortune smuggling contraband
cotton from the Confederate States. He invested his ill-gotten
gains in a subscription scheme that put him in a position to
seize control of the Union Pacific Railroad, naming himself its
vice president. From there he swindled his way across the prairie
one mile of track at a time until we meet up with him somewhere
near what is today North Platte, Nebraska, or as Cullen Bohannon
came to know it: Hell on Wheels.
I grew up near a prairie train town, and I live today in a train
town. The years in between have seen the demise of the miles
of network tracks that were built in the late 1800s when trains
were the preferred choice of travel (until Henry Ford came up
with a better idea). I am here again to see the resurgence of
the endless ribbons of freight trains that carry coal from Wyoming
to power plants east. Today the mighty Union Pacific connects
23 western states and North Platte's Bailey Yard is the world's
largest train yard spanning 2,800 acres. Each day it manages
10,000 railroad cars and sorts 3,000 daily to make sure the cargo
reaches its final destination.
Hell on Wheels weaves the story of the early history of
the railroad seamlessly through Cullen's tale of revenge for
the murder of his wife, but the world around him and the characters
that he meets are gritty and rich with their own set of demons
and baggage. Anson Mount is not afraid to explore his darker
side and he is confident enough in his craft to know when to
take a step back and allow his fellow actors to tell their character's
story. Without his seductive invitation, I doubt most of us would
have gotten through the blood and mud of the first episode. Colm
Meaney is equally brilliant as the railroad boss and his character
is wonderfully faceted. Lily Bell, played well by Dominique McElligott,
is too pale and pretty to have wandered in the elements for weeks
but we'll forgive her beauty and fine clothes ... its all a part
of that cinematic juxtaposition. Christopher Heyerdahl as The
Swede and Tom Noonan as Reverend Cole are superb. Elam, played
by Common, finds understanding in his struggle beyond Slavery
with Eva, a tattooed prostitute, both actors live large in their
characters. One by one these bruised souls emerge from desperate
situations to reveal a bit of humanity in a cruel wilderness.
The last hold out is Cullen, the man who we all hope will reveal
a glimpse of his long lost soul ... stay tuned.
