Richard Madden is Bill Haskell and Agustus Pew is Byron Epstein. They’re best friends, headed West, determined to make their mark on the world.
With little in their pockets, but heads full of hope, they decide to journey all the way to the Yukon for a chance to get rich in the Klondike Gold Rush.
Getting there requires a perilous journey. They survive while many others don’t.
But it turns out that’s the least hazardous part of this adventure.
Oh, there are riches to be had in Dawson City. But many of the richest are those who cater to the miners’ desires, prey on their weaknesses or just plain steal from them.
Within days of staking a claim where no one else thought to, Bill’s partner Byron is shot dead.
Suddenly, Bill finds himself alone in the Yukon, perhaps with a target on his back and justice for his friend no where to be found.
Oh, and he has a new partner — Joe Meeker (Tim Blake Nelson), who’s working for ambitious businesswoman Belinda Mulrooney (Abbie Cornish).
Could she have had a role in the killing? Seems doubtful.
But Bill’s unsure who to trust in this new world he’s entered.
Certainly not The Count (Tim Roth), who’s having little luck with his claims, but doesn’t hesitate to steal from others.
Certainly not Soapy Smith (Ian Hart), who’s always looking for an opportunity to cash in on the misfortunes of others.
And perhaps not even the law. Because when the Mounties arrive, they seem more interest in pinning Byron’s killing on the local Indians than looking for the real killer.
Richard Madden as Bill Haskell, confronting Belinda Mulrooney about how she came to own half of his claim in Klondike (2014)
Abbie Cornish as Belinda Mulrooney, a woman determined to make her fortune in Dawson City in Klondike (2014)
Review:
A six-part mini-series that aired on Discovery and obviously had “Deadwood” and “Game of Thrones” aspirations. Just check out that GOT-like intro.
It misses the mark on those lofty goals, but is beautifully filmed, quite well acted and different enough to be entertaining for Western fans.
Not all of the subplots work. Conor Leslie as Sabine makes for an enchanting whore. Then she becomes Father Judge’s assistant after a harsh scolding from Belinda. Yeah, right?
Some of the plot lines are too repetitive, especially if you’re going to watch this in a single setting. Marton Csokas plays the Mountie Superintendent who’s constantly being urged by his superior to hang the two Indians in his jail, but doubts their guilt.
But Madden is quite effective in the lead role; you’ll certainly find yourself rooting for him. And standouts among the supporting cast include Tim Blake Nelson as the partner who’s forced upon him and Abbie Cornish as Belinda, the woman he comes to love.
The resolution of most of the plot lines are very well handed as well.
Tim Roth as The Count, an Englishman with little luck with his claims, more with his business endeavors in Klondike (2014)
Conor Leslie as Sabine, a whore bound for the Yukon, meeting Bill Haskell and his buddy in Klondike (2014)
Directed by:
Simon Cellan Jones
Cast:
Richard Madden … Bill Haskell
Abbie Cornish … Belinda Mulrooney
Sam Shepard … Father Judge
Tim Roth … The Count
Tim Blake Nelson … Joe Meeker
Marton Csokas … The Superintendent
Conor Leslie … Sabine
Agustus Pew … Byron Epstein
Ian Hart … Soapy Smith
Johnny Simmons … Jack London
Greg Lawson … Goodman
Michael Greyeyes … Cheyeho
Brian Markinson … Cavendesh
Colin Cunnngham … Swiftwater Bill Gates
Ron Selmour … Sundown
Adirna Hough … Dan Condon
Runtime: 272 min.
Marton Csokas as the Mountie superintendent caught in an ethical dilemma in Klondike (2014)
Brian Markinson as Cavendesh, insisting his Mountie superintendent execute Indians for a muder they might not have committed in Klondike (2014)
Memorable lines:
Old-timer issuing a warning as the friends struggle up the mountain: “As soon as you hear a rumble, you got about 10 seconds to live. The mountain will eat you.”
Bill Haskell: “That’s twice you’ve saved us.”
Father John: “Saving a man’s hide’s not saving him.”
Bill Haskell, balking at the price Byron is about to pay for a pistol: “Fifty?”
Belinda Mulrooney: “I suppose you’re going to tell me it’s grand larceny.”
Bill: “It is.”
Belinda: “If it saves your life, it’s not.”
Sam Shepard as Father Judge, announcing that Indians did not kill Bill Haskell’s partner in Klondike (2014)
Ian Hart as Soapy Smith, a man always looking to make a buck off someone’s misfortune in Klondike (2014)
Byron Epstein: “To having nothing in our pockets …”
Bill Haskell: “Except a head full of hope.”
Bill Haskell: “They’d kill over mud, would they? If it’s the claim they’re after, that’s all they’re killing over now — mud.”
Belinda Mulrooney; “It’s what they think is under it.”
Haskell: “Who’d do it?”
Belinda: “Who wouldn’t? I worry about you. I don’t think you understand this place.”
Belinda Mulrooney to the Count: “Threatening a priest? You stack transgression upon transgression, don’t ya?”
Belinda Mulrooney, delivering whore Sabine to the preacher: “God may be a fairytale. But the fear of God ain’t. You put that into her.”
Tim Blake Nelson as Joe Meeker, the man who finds himself working a claim with Bill Haskell in Klondike (2014)
Greg Lawson as Goodman, a former soldier scarred by his experience on the battlefield in Klondike (2014)
Miko: “Save it, leech.”
Soapy Smith: “Rather be a leech than an idiot, friend. Leech never goes hungry.”
Bill Haskell: “A murderer walks among us. That’s not God’s plan.”
Father Judge: “What makes you think he’s got a plan?”
Goodman: “A man just gets tired of being dealt crappy cards by the universe.”
Meeker: “I’m done with the Klondike. I wanna go a place where there’s oranges. Oranges all year round. Men don’t kill each other for oranges. And they’re a hell of a lot more beautiful than gold.”
Agustus Pew as Byron Epstein, the buddy who travels to the Yukon with Bill Haskell in Klondike (2014)
Johnny Simmons as Jack London, an aspiring writer collecting material from his observations in Klondike (2014)
Michael Greyeyes as Cheyeho, leader of the Tlingit Indians, determined to protect his tribesmen in Klondike (2014)
Ron Selmour as Sundown, a henchman for brutal businessman The Count in Klondike (2014)
Conor Leslie as Sabine, a whore celebrating with Swiftwater Bill in Klondike (2014)
Abbie Cornish as Belinda Mulrooney, confronting her arch rival The Count in Klondike (2014)
Richard Madden as Bill Haskell, bidding farewell to the buddy with whom he traveled to the Yukon in Klondike (2014)
Augustus Pew as Byron Epstein and Richard Madden as Bill Haskell, studying a nugget that prompted their journey to the Yukon in Klondike (2014)
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