Blackstone

I tried watching this years ago on cable TV but I found it too cartoonish, too violent, too black and white in its portrayal of Aboriginals on modern day Reserves. Recently I caught it from the Pilot and have watched 14 episodes so far. Now I understand it. You have to watch it from the beginning to understand who are the good guys and bad guys. I hated Andy Fraser before as he is just pure evil, Satan incarnate. But now? I love him. When you watch any movie or TV series, if it does not have a good antagonist then it will fail. You need someone truly bad to contrast with the good characters, the angels if you will. I am addicted to this program. I have not missed an episode. I am invested in these characters. Andy is the only truly bad character. Even his co-conspirators are not as bad as he is. Life as an aboriginal in North America has always been a nightmare and like a horror movie for others who have not seen or heard what that group has been through. This series handles that aspect of Native life very well. There is lots of darkness and bad things happen all the time, but these people still survive, scarred and defeated, but they get back up again because that is all they can do.

Many shows decrease in quality with each passing season, Blackstone is the opposite. The show takes a season or so to hit its stride, but incredible character development starts in the first episode. Every character is allowed to have flaws, which allows for nuanced and very real portrayals. The acting on this show is unparalleled, the performers are able to take complex and often very heavy story lines and portray them in a way that is respectful and real. Michelle Thrush and Carmen Moore, often seen in supporting or guest roles in other shows, give career defining lead performances. This show handles sensitive topics incredibly well, and not in an "episode of the week" type fashion. A single issue is often shown from multiple different perspectives. All in all, Blackstone is a riveting, intense, and memorable drama highlighting an incredibly talented cast.

This could have been great. Unwatchable. The characters seem great and series is so far well written. I can't watch anymore.

I really wanted to watch this series, but I literally could not tolerate the nauseating camera work. Why film directors ever choose this approach is beyond me. Don't they realise that by shaking the camera all over the place, you instantly alienate every single audience member with notion sickness tendencies. Sucj a strange model trend in cinematography.

Found this after looking for Eric Schweig vehicles and really wanted to like it. Currently watching Season One Episode Seven.

The 'shaky cam' is distracting and in no way contributes artistically.

The gratuitous vulgarity feels like lazy writing, which is confirmed by dialogue that is often more stilted than insightful.

A lot of the acting is either wooden or heavy-handed.

The actors portraying villains seem to have studied at the "Snidely Whiplash" school of drama - if they had mustachios they would be twisting them.

There is little subtlety or nuance in the dialogue or acting or plot development.

A rape prosecution relies on a non-witness instead of DNA evidence? Vote out the current chief in favor of the one the community knows is corrupt who stole evidence of his corruption and assaulted a council member in the process? Maybe it's me. Maybe people really do interact as portrayed in this series. Maybe people are as illogical as presented here (heck, there are millions still supporting Trump). If so, the situation is even worse than I understood it to be.

The issues are compelling and real and I think deserve better handling than I've seen so far. Hope the series improves.