From the early murders to the later pig fights, the Hatfields and McCoys families in West Virginia and Kentucky, respectively, fell into irrational hatred around the 1880s. A Romeo and Juliet-esque love became the trigger for the escalation of the conflict, followed by vendetta assassinations and even large-scale armed confrontations. Their feud even nearly turned into a war between the two states, and their stories frequently made headlines in federal newspapers. In the end, most of the McCoys' children were killed and wounded, while the Hatfields were sentenced to eight (seven life sentences and one hanging). This grievance was later included in the American Folklore Dictionary and became a synonym and negative teaching material for a family feud.
Directed by Kevin Reynolds, this 3-episode miniseries faithfully recreates this infamous family feud in American history with epic flair and western style. The director selects representative events from a time span of several decades, and spends more than 4 hours fully, showing the audience how the two families forged step by step and fell into a bloody feud. In the middle, reason appears powerless, the law cannot be restrained, and religion cannot redeem. Hatred is like a snowball, when will the grievances be repaid; but perhaps no matter who it is, it will be clear by the bystanders and fans by the authorities.
In addition to the full story, another major feature of this film is the vivid portrayal of many characters. Everyone has the same surname, and it was hard to tell who was who in the first episode; but as the plot develops, the outlines of everyone gradually become clearer. Like two strong and forbidding mothers who support their husbands silently, like the handsome and romantic but simple-minded Johnse, like Nancy who fell into madness for revenge, like a judge who always keeps calm, like Cotton Top who still protects the rabbit on the battlefield but was hanged . Although each person's character is relatively single, it is not easy to create such an impressive group of characters.
The film not only has a record number of viewers, but also received 16 nominations at that year's Emmy Awards. In the end, Kevin Costner and Tom Berenger, who played the top two characters in the Hatfields family, won the best actor and supporting actor respectively.
View more about Hatfields & McCoys reviews
