I watched the first two parts of this mini-series yesterday and then found out Kevin Costner picked up a Best Actor award at the Golden Globes later in the evening for his role as the patriarch of the Hatfield Clan. I don't think I've seen him give a finer performance. There's an interesting dichotomy to his portrayal of Devil 'Anse' Hatfield. Viewed objectively, the character does live up to his nickname with a stone cold heart and an unwavering quest for revenge for every wrong committed against his extended family. The odd thing is, somehow he comes across as reasonable, even when he's about to execute a trio of McCoy kin propped up in front of a Hatfield firing squad.
The same holds true for his nemesis Randall McCoy (Bill Paxton). Randall is the more tragic of the two figures, who succumbs to alcohol and a placid sort of dementia over time after witnessing so many of his family fall victim to the infamous feud. Paxton could have been a contender for the same Golden Globe award, but his character didn't have the kind of charisma that Costner brought to his portrayal. Even so, Paxton does a superb job in his role.
Other standouts in the story include Tom Berenger as Uncle Jim Vance on the Hatfield side, and Mare Winningham as Randall's wife Sally. Berenger's completely unrecognizable, at least to me, underneath the woolly beard and all that mountain man gear. Whenever I see Winningham, I think back to her Brat Pack days in "St. Elmo's Fire" and marvel at how she's developed as an actress over the years. The writers gave her a great line when she made an observation about the newly discovered light bulb, calling it Tom Edison's electric lightning ball - that was a hoot.
Over the years and like most people, I had heard of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys without ever knowing anything about it's history. After a falling out over Anse Hatfield's desertion from the Confederate Army in 1863, and Randall's serving time in a Union prison camp, the two men always seemed to have something come up between them. Sometimes it involved cousins or other kinfolk, but the matter generally landed at each other's doorstep forcing one man's hand against the other. The war between the families didn't end until 1891, and even then only unofficially. The end credits state that a formal resolution wasn't reached until, get this, 2003!, when a formal peace treaty was signed by sixty descendants of the original ancestors. One hundred thirty eight years - and you thought your neighbor was a pain in the neck.
The same holds true for his nemesis Randall McCoy (Bill Paxton). Randall is the more tragic of the two figures, who succumbs to alcohol and a placid sort of dementia over time after witnessing so many of his family fall victim to the infamous feud. Paxton could have been a contender for the same Golden Globe award, but his character didn't have the kind of charisma that Costner brought to his portrayal. Even so, Paxton does a superb job in his role.
Other standouts in the story include Tom Berenger as Uncle Jim Vance on the Hatfield side, and Mare Winningham as Randall's wife Sally. Berenger's completely unrecognizable, at least to me, underneath the woolly beard and all that mountain man gear. Whenever I see Winningham, I think back to her Brat Pack days in "St. Elmo's Fire" and marvel at how she's developed as an actress over the years. The writers gave her a great line when she made an observation about the newly discovered light bulb, calling it Tom Edison's electric lightning ball - that was a hoot.
Over the years and like most people, I had heard of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys without ever knowing anything about it's history. After a falling out over Anse Hatfield's desertion from the Confederate Army in 1863, and Randall's serving time in a Union prison camp, the two men always seemed to have something come up between them. Sometimes it involved cousins or other kinfolk, but the matter generally landed at each other's doorstep forcing one man's hand against the other. The war between the families didn't end until 1891, and even then only unofficially. The end credits state that a formal resolution wasn't reached until, get this, 2003!, when a formal peace treaty was signed by sixty descendants of the original ancestors. One hundred thirty eight years - and you thought your neighbor was a pain in the neck.