I was first pulled into The Hatfields and McCoys by the trailer. It shows the usual teaser scenes but the song "Bartholemew" by the The Silent Comedy is one of those songs that just stays in your head and makes you remember. It also has a distinct rocking chair rhythm with a blue grassy sound which is a perfect accompaniment toward the series. I would suggest to check out the other songs on their album,"Common Faults" by The Silent Comedy. I think we will hear more from this group in the future.
But anyway,knowing some of the history of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys, I made no real plans to see it. So much parody, jokes and even cartoons have been made of the infamous battle between two clans, that I thought this would be another stinker. But one night the History Channel was repeating the series, nothing else on TV, I decided what the heck!All I can say, I don't know exactly why, but it was like picking up a book and not being able to put it down.
The acting is probably what impressed me. It's good! Kevin Costner does a fine performance as the brooding, yet ornery Devil Anise Hatfield and Bill Paxton as the quiet, "moral seeker" Randall McCoy. Both show a proud fierceness of being the head of two large families and surviving in the rugged wilderness of Kentucky and West Virginia. The rest of the supporting cast does more than lend affirmation toward their characters but they give the film a finer spice and freshness like the mountain air. The only strange thing is that the entire series was filmed in Romania....Romania? A lot of viewers were disappointed that it was not filmed on location by the Tug River near Kentucky and West Virginia. My guess is that it may be cheaper to film in a remote foreign country or a lot of the original locations may have been modernized by buildings or just plain gone.
The Hatfields and McCoys probably take some dramatic liberties to further the plot line, but not much. The most infamous story line is the love story between Johnes Hatfield and Rosanna McCoy. Rosanna did save Johnes's life on that night her brothers took him away to kill him, by riding on horseback thru a dark night to warn Devil Anise. But some have disputed that Johnes was all not that infatuated with Rosanna, and the reason he abandoned her was that he was a notorious womanizer. Johnese decided that being with Rosanna was too dangerous and did not want to deal with the McCoys and that he was not ready to settle down with a family. But whatever the real story, Rosanna's fate was the most tragic.
I was warned the scenes were gory and bloody--sorry--I've seen horror films that were far worse. But some of the murderous acts fighting, and cold hearted acts may upset some viewers. I've heard some say that it pokes fun at religion and with a scene of a ruckus in a church meeting house with a preacher. I never took it that way--it was a tough life living back then and especially in that location. It may have influenced some people to commit acts of violence because they felt the knowing need for survival.
So what can be said about the entire Hatfield and McCoy feud? Two proud families headed by two fierce proud patriarchs that took escalation incidents and lead them to a tragic bloodbath. And that is what the conclusion heading too---it consumed some of the family members while giving us a haunting lesson of what revenge mixed with family pride can do. Would it have ended differently if Devil Anise and Randall took other steps---maybe but probably not. In any event, The Hatfields and McCoys can be historical reminders of how violence or wars can abruptly start while consuming others with tragic consequences.
