[star rating=”5″] THE GOOD LORD BIRD. With Ethan Hawke, Joshua Caleb Johnson, Duke Davis Roberts and more. Showmax.
MEGAN CHORITZ reviews
I knew nothing about abolitionist John Brown and his insane plan to free all black people from slavery and oppression in the USA. At the beginning of each episode of the seven-part series The Good Lord Bird, these words ALL OF THIS IS TRUE are followed by MOST OF IT HAPPENED. A little bit of digging shows that this is the case. The series is based on fact, and it is also a fictionalised account of what happened, creating an extraordinary, original and beautiful short series that took my breath away.
IMDB sums up The Good Lord Bird like this. “Ethan Hawke stars as abolitionist John Brown in this series based on the novel. ‘Onion’ is a fictional enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown’s family of abolitionist soldiers and finds himself in the 1859 raid at Harpers Ferry.” This is the absolute skeleton of a story filled with the most original characters, plot twists and emotion, and I loved it.
When an actor takes over a story like this as producer, writer and lead it can easily become a vanity project, but this is definitely not the case here. Ethan Hawke approaches this character and his story like a calling, and I have never seen him, or anything else, like it. Utterly transformed, physically, vocally and emotionally, Ethan Hawke as John Brown is riveting and magnificent and one of the deepest performances I have seen. But he is not alone. The entire supporting cast is as brilliant; delivering original, rooted and outrageously good performances. The Good Lord Bird introduces Joshua Caleb Johnson as Henry ‘Onion’ Shackleford, and this beautiful young actor spends almost the entire series in a dress, playing the fictitious orphan who is taken up by John Brown. It is an astounding debut. But even the smallest characters, like John Brown’s son Frederick (Duke Davis Roberts), are played his with sensitivity and detail.
Evocative and beautifully handled styling
It is definitely the acting that is supreme in this series, but everything else is great too. The styling is evocative and beautifully handled, the cinematography is fresh, and the episodes are fabulously edited. And the soundtrack is just perfect.
I feel a bit gushy here. I can’t think of anything I didn’t like about it. I loved the history woven with mythology. I loved the notion of a simple error being sustained throughout in terms of mistaken gender, and I loved the commitment and passion that shone through every shot, speech and moment. It is definitely one of my favourite series this year.
What: The Good Lord Bird
Where: Showmax
WS
