A crazy abolitionist John Brown, accompanied by Little Onion, a young slave whom he mistook for a girl and dressed as one, embarks on this violent and fun adventure that would raise tensions between north and south, years before the civil war.
The mini-series is the adaptation of the novel "The Good Lord Bird", by the prestigious writer James McBride, which was published in 2013. That same year, it received the National Fiction Book Award from the National Book Foundation of the United States.
The novel and mini-series tell the story from the point of view of the character Henry Shackleford, a young slave, who by a tragic cincurst of fate, joins the group led by abolitionist John Brown in Kansas, during the time that history books call Bleeding Kansas, which were the years before the Civil War.
John Brow mistakes Henry Shackleford for a girl and gives her a dress. In addition, he will receive the nickname of Little Onion, for eating a rotten onion that Brown used as a good luck charm. From that moment on, Henry becomes Henrrieta and must pretend to be a girl for much of the story.
The adventures of a crazy, extremely religious and violent John Brown for abolishing slavery and punishing slave owners, with the company of Little Onion, will present situations on the verge of absurdity, but that serve to know a little about this man who lit the first flames of that fire (the civil war) that would come a couple of years after his death.
What I like about the mini-series is that it is energetically fun. So far, the episodes I've seen have been totally crazy. The entanglements and situations Little Onion is involved in, dressed as a child, are delirious. From laughter we quickly move on to dramatic and violent scenes, in perfect balance with the harsh western.
But even the violent situations are not exempt from being funny, because John Brown's character is an absolute madman. The abolitionist who can spend hours praying to God, and then cut off heads and kill any enemies of the cause. His sacred mission is to free all the slaves in America and together exterminate all those who favor slavery.
The only way to achieve this will be through the use of violence. By embarking on an adventure to recruit men for armed struggle. For some he will be a savior, for others he will be a violent extremist.
Ethan Hawke's interpretation of John Brow is a complete marvel. The actor uses all his acting resources to embody this man, offering us a powerful character, always on the verge of madness. Each of his scenes is a delight to watch. Whether it is a fight, a prayer or a shooting, the character will show us a good time.
Of course, Little Onion plays an important role for us to enjoy Brown's crazy story. The great revelation has been the actor Joshua Johnson-Lionel who plays Henry Shackleford, the young slave who must wear a dress and who most people mistake for a girl. This actor began his career in 2016, as a child, appearing in different television programs. But now, this mini-series has made him stand out, no wonder we see him more often in future productions. Because playing Little Onion is great.
Ethan Hawke not only brings his talent as an actor, but he is also the creator/producer of the series and one of the scriptwriters, along with other professionals such as James McBride, Mark Richard, Kristen SaBerre and Erika Johnson.
It is a Blumhouse Television production, which commissioned Albert Hughes, Haifaa Al-Mansour, Kevin Hooks, Darnell Martin and Kate Woods to direct the episodes. The distribution rights were acquired by the television company Showtime.
Who was John Brown?
The novel on which the mini-series is based is fiction, but the character John Brown existed in real life. He is a well-known figure in the history of the United States. He was an abolitionist fighter who proclaimed his message that the only way to abolish slavery was through violence; it was the only language that enemies would understand. His preaching and the violent situations in which he was involved would increase tensions between North and South. After his capture and death in 1859, only two years later, the American Civil War began.
If you are interested in knowing the life of John Brown, I suggest you read this article from the wiki he was asking for, where his entire life is captured: link
The character has had other performances in other productions. In the 1982 CBS Civil War miniseries, The Blue and the Gray, Brown is played by Sterling Hayden. And in 1985, ABC would release the successful North and South mini-series, where John Bron is played by legend Johnny Cash.
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The cast is mostly male, with Nick Eversman as John Brwon Jr. Ellar Coltrane plays Salmon Brown. Beau Knapp is Owen Brown. Hubert Point-Du plays Frederick Douglass, who existed in real life, a man who escaped from slavery and would become a leader of New York's abolitionist movement. Among the familiar faces is actor Steven Zahn who plays Chase. His appearance is short, but he is funny; his character will have a very violent destiny but he will make us laugh for that crazy moment.
The mini-series is currently airing on Showtime, consists of seven episodes and I recommend it. It is a production that I am enjoying very much.
My Ranking: 4/5
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