Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
armjan
Someone- perhaps Samuel Johnson?- said "Second marriages are the triumph of hope over experience." I gave this new series a few tries. Apparently, there is a new school of screenwriter thought which dictates "The more subplots per character, the better." I shall refer to this as the GRRM school of writing. This show seems to be firmly in that camp. As a "ferinstance", there is a main plot about dealing with the casualties of war in a hospital in the midst of a bloody conflict with primitive medicine. Then there are subplots involving conflicts between old and new schools of thought, confronting racial prejudice, split political allegiance, family conflicts, and the breakup of a marriage. The proceeding only involves one character. The actual medical research seems decently done, although the historical accuracy gets short shrift. The Emancipation Proclamation was not even signed, let alone law, when the series is initially set and would not be law for several months. This series cannot seem to make up its mind if it is Deadwood, MASH,or Gone With The Wind with a dash of Uncle Tom's Cabin thrown in.
bon2204
I am greatly enjoying this series. The production has the feel of the period from the mud in the streets, to the period decor of the rooms and costumes, all the way to the amputated limbs being taken away in a wheelbarrow. War is hell, and none was more so than the Civil War, when weaponry had become so efficient as to mow down regiments marching forward in outdated styles of battle. Some viewers might object to bloody surgery scenes. However, one of the most affecting scenes to me was of a Confederate soldier with shell shock who told of the horror of battle, "the smoke and blood and the screaming, you never know where it's coming from." Soldiers who make it to this hospital are cared for to the best of their abilities by Mary Phinney and Dr. Jedediah Foster, played admirably by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Josh Radnor. Their own personal dramas are interwoven into the story lines quite well. Applause to the producers and directors!
leah-93299
I love all historical and period pieces so watch this one after my Downton Abbey fix. However, I am continually distracted during these episodes by the non authentic accents of characters who are supposed to be Virginians but sound more like they have dropped in from Georgia or Alabama. All southern accents are not created equal. Actors use coaches to learn proper English, Irish, German, Italian, etc. accents. Someone needed to teach these actors to speak Virginian. It is jarring to hear accents that are out of place with the setting. I could also do without all the graphic blood and gore but that seems to be part and parcel of all films these days.The series does hold one's attention. I must have not been paying strict attention because I do not remember the action ever dealing with the Union officer smuggled by Frank. When do they discover him?
lhagge-86907
Ridley Scott this may be, but a British costume drama it is not. By which I mean, though they appear to have tried for four years, they could not come up with a script that was not lame, or actors who were not amateurish. The very MINIMUM that should be expected is that actors will have a reasonable and consistent accent for their characters, but apparently even this was too much to ask--for example, each of the actors playing the family who own the hotel-turned hospital has a different accent, even though they are supposed to be playing a single Virginia family. The older girl, one of our heroines, cannot even maintain a consistent accent throughout,sometimes sounding vaguely southernish, and other times like a Yankee. Her younger sister by contrast sounds like a Georgia cracker. The results are like a low-budget film from the 1950s. Really really disappointing and cheesy. No finesse in the writing either--just clump clump clump like a big pair of boots. Ugh.
