David Oyelowo in LAWMEN: BASS REEVES-A Must See Historic TV Series

The historic series LAWMEN: BASS REEVES stars David Oyelowo, as Bass Reeves, a former slave who becomes a US Marshall. Anything the actor Oyelowo is affiliated with is always worth watching. In addition to Oyelowo's portrayal, there's plenty to recommend this western drama based on the incredible life of Bass Reeves released on Prime. Reeves was born a slave in TX and forced to serve in the Civil War fighting alongside his master for the Confederacy. Reeves' skills as a marksman helped save his life and that of his owner while killing Union soldiers fighting for his freedom. Shortly before the end of the Civil War, Reeves' returned with his master's TX plantation. The dramatic depiction of events that make up this wild west/reconstruction era run as loose as a noose dragging in the dirt. These are the facts attributed to Reeves: he was a sharpshooter who made at least 3,000 arrests, killed 14 men in his job as a lawman, failed as a farmer, spoke several Native Indian languages and despite being illiterate he was able to  memorize the Bible from hearing it read. Reeves was a legend in the west whose story has been mostly dismissed from history. Reeves lived during a pivotal time in our nation's history. It was a time when the country was trying to heal from the devastation of the Civil War and expanding its frontiers into a lawless society. Native Indians were being slaughtered and their lands taken. The south was rebounding from emancipation towards the oppressive Jim Crow South. The most stirring scenes show blacks and whites being shackled by Reeves, only recently himself a slave in bondage. There are delightful scenes shown within his family' home. Ironic and disturbing was the mass Negro movement to usurp and settle Native American's lands and justified as their due and before the whites steal their land. It was gratifying but short-lived, noting the indignant rebellion of freed Negroes to white repression and violence. The acting from the cast is forthright, particularly by the judge played by Donald Sutherland in his final film role, Reeves' daughter Sally, played by a superb Demi Singleton, (the late John Singleton's daughter) and Lauren Banks as Reeves' wife. Dennis Quaid, a likable actor fares poorly in time pieces and is given a melodramatic role that feels forced. The scoring for the series was as a dissonant distraction. Still, LAWMAN does an outstanding job capturing the look and feel of Civil War battles, shootouts, the rugged frontier and harmonious domestic life. The cinematography is sumptuous making the epoch appear both breathtaking and extremely harsh. BASS REEVES is solid gold viewing not pyrite.  It bears historic relevance, epic storytelling, superior acting, excellent production and reprises a tale of a maverick; a slave who became a high ranking and highly respected lawman.