Hell on Wheels
American Movies Channel; Sundays, 10 p.m.
The new AMC series Hell on Wheels is an enjoyable and reasonably authentic treatment of the Transcontinental Railroad’s construction during the 1860s. Although the action takes place right after the Civil War ended, key elements of the plot and characterization are rooted firmly in our nation’s seminal struggle.
The drama’s protagonist is a former Confederate soldier, Cullen Bohannon (played by Anson Mount, clearly channeling Clint Eastwood), who is bent on revenge for the rape-murder of his wife by Sherman’s Federals during the 1864 raid on Meridian, Miss. Bohannon is portrayed as a tortured, complicated man who freed his slaves before the war at the urging of his wife but fought in the Confederate Army as a point of Southern honor. That leads to a testy relationship with the ex-slaves who work with him on the tracks.
A memorable cast of supporting characters adds to the intrigue, including the corrupt Doc Durant (Colm Meaney), intent on milking the government for everything he can; an Andersonville survivor known as “The Swede” who becomes Durant’s security chief (depicted with Gothic malevolence by Christopher Heyerdahl); and the beguiling Lily Bell (Dominique McElligott). Bohannon’s prickly relation ship with former slave Elam Ferguson, played by the rapper Common, enables the writers to delve into both emancipation and racial themes—though the interracial dialogue and interaction seems more 1960s than 1860s.
The costumes and equipage (sack coats, belt buckles, 1860 Army Colts and 1866 Winchesters aplenty) should generally satisfy Civil War enthusiasts, and the splendid landscapes provided by Alberta, Canada, where the series was shot, add to its veracity. Hell on Wheels’ camp setting, with all its mud, squalor and venality, will inevitably invite comparisons to HBO’s recent Deadwood.
One cannot expect strict historical accuracy in a drama intended for mass appeal, but there are a few glaring inaccuracies and anachronisms on display. These shortcomings do not undermine the entire series, however, which at least generally follows historical events, makes a genuine attempt at historical verisimilitude, boasts good writing and performances and possesses the necessary ingredient in all such sagas: grit. A little more attention to factual accuracy would have made it even better.
Originally published in the April 2012 issue of Civil War Times. To subscribe, click here.
