IR TV Review: THE MADISON - EPISODES 1, 2 & 3 [Paramount+]
The star power of "The Madison" is the first aspect to draw one in and then mix it with Taylor Sheridan. But the show isn't quite what one would expect. It is more a modulation on loss. It is distinctly a show piece for Michelle Pfeiffer in her first major TV piece. This is a limited six part series, split into two blocks of 3 episodes each. The pilot sets up the rub which is loss which becomes retroactive. Pfeiffer, a New York socialite, is married to Kurt Russell's would be magnate. But the main thing he loves is every year getting away with his brother Paul (played by Matthew Fox) to Montana to go fly fishing. The series establishes the sereneness of the area and the first episode is more about that dynamic and its impact, both good and bad. The writing is good (all done by Taylor Sheridan -- at least the first three) though slightly different than his usual. It is tad more soapy but it is about attitude and privilege but than it is about strategy.
After a certain event passes, things change and people start to change. Pfeiffer's Stacy is a dynamic woman but the separation is meant to be stark. Her existential journey is the best kind of progression that can fuel this kind of acting and Sheridan seems to be writing to her specifically (not sure if that was the case). Her phone , especially with Russell's Preston, are pointed, vivid and encompassing, even if it is just her in a tub in New York City while he is sitting at a cabin on a river on Montana as a small snow shower rains down. The second and third episodes show Pfieffer, her daughters, two grandchildren and a son-in-law coming in from the big city to deal with said situation. The key is obviously cultural shock but also the wokeness that has made them alien to the simple genuine aspects of life (and simple courtesies). Stacy's plan continues to change as there is mourning taking place but she is also trying to find her way. She simply says at point "I'm 65. What am I going to do?" Pfieffer looks great for her age but there is a sense of time. Her kids should be grown as they are trying to make their way too but they too seem stuck. But when she scolds them at times (there is one great fight in the cabin in the second of the later episodes), the way that the grown up kids react is both true to life, sad and disconnected...and yet there is a lesson to be learned.
There is anticipation that there might be some land drama or some big baddie. But the reality is that the baddie is internal and these characterrs coming to terms with themselves and the situation. This is a more subtle series that might take some people off guard. And though Russell is the most approachable he has been in years (good writing does that), Pfieffer is the luminary here and it is nice that Russell steps back (as that is the way the script is built) to let her shine. There is some good humor in the writing (a local cowboy's line about "lost cargo" is a great bit as is a romantic climax at the end of episode 3 with just two lines). The show doesn't have to go to extremes at all in showing things. The writing does its work. At least not at this point. The sereneness of Montana where they shot near Ennis and the Forks especially one valley really brings to bear what the story is about. There is of course going to be consequences of what happened but that likely will be more addressed on the back three. "The Madison" is not perfect. It is a different swing for Sheridan. But the writing is good and Pfeiffer is brilliant to watch, like not a day has passed. B
By Tim Wassberg
