http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/moviestory.mpl/ae/tv/3218888

June 10, 2005, 11:09AM

Get ready to settle in for Into the West
By MIKE MCDANIEL

In size and stature, Steven Spielberg's Into the West equals or exceeds
that most hallowed of Western television epics, Lonesome Dove.

But as a cultural touchstone and an everlasting memory, it only comes close
to touching the heart the way the miniseries based on Larry McMurtry's
masterpiece did.

Not that I didn't enjoy Into the West. I did — at least the six hours of
the 12-hour miniseries provided for preview. I was swept up in its bookend
stories, one showing the viewpoint of an American pioneer and his family,
the other focusing on a tribe of American Indians.

A sentence, a paragraph or a single story cannot do justice to what unfolds
before us in this sprawling undertaking. Spanning 1825 to 1891, Spielberg,
as executive producer, employs six directors, 40 principal actors, more
than 200 speaking parts and countless special effects in recreating a
pristine American West, untamed and unharmed, and telling an incredibly
imposing, uniquely American story. The detail — from costumes to set
decoration to the use of American Indian language — is exquisite.

At the core of the story is the Wheeler family, particularly Jacob Wheeler
(Matthew Settle), a wheelwright with a pioneer's itch. Forsaking the safety
and sameness of home, he abandons his parents and siblings on behalf of
adventure, which he finds when he meets a legendary mountain man (Josh
Brolin). Eventually his wanderlust will take him into California.

TNT
Matthew Settle and Tonantzin Carmelo star in the Steven Spielberg-produced
mini-series that's big in scope if not in heart.

Also at the story's core: a tribe of Lakota, deeply spiritual, maybe even
superstitious. From that tribe will emerge Thunder Heart Woman (Tonantzin
Carmelo), a woman of deep faith and quiet determination who will one day
come to the attention of Jacob Wheeler.

Linking these two stories are danger and hardship as common as the sun.
Their forms are many: disease, wild animals, lack of food and water, riding
on horses or in hard wagons, men with rifles, unbearable heat, unbearable
cold, bandits and bad guys on the prowl.

If Into the West has one great strength, it is showing the incredible
difficulty involved in moving into unchartered territory.

And if Into the West has a weakness, it is in how convenient the story
seems to come together. It is more than coincidence that over the 12 hours
we will rub against the California gold rush, the building of the
transcontinental railroad and the battle of Wounded Knee. And how brother
can find brother (never mind California!) without a map or a phone, is one
of those hard-to-fathom coincidences you must attribute to fate or
melodrama (and in storytelling, melodrama is the more likely source).

At the heart of the miniseries — at least for Parts 1, 2 and 3 — are Settle
and Carmelo. They are unrecognizable names among the likes of Sean Astin,
Simon Baker, Tom Berenger, Beau Bridges, Gary Busey, Jessica Capshaw, Keith
Carradine, Rachael Leigh Cook, Balthazar Getty, Joanna Going, Graham
Greene, Lance Henriksen, Matthew Modine, Will Patton, Judge Reinhold, Keri
Russell, Craig Sheffer, Michael Spears, Wes Studi, John Terry and Skeet
Ulrich.

As Thunder Heart Woman, Carmelo is the project's spiritual spine. She never
loses faith, no matter the obstacles or hardships.

"There are a lot of scenes where I get a lot of bruises," she said,
referring specifically to one scene in which she is attacked and raped by a
member of a warring tribe. "The scene took so much struggling. It felt like
I was taking on 50 pound weights. At the end of the day I couldn't even
lift my arms. It took me a week to recover."

But the marvel of the piece is Settle's performance. His mastery in aging
by more than 20 years is something to behold. It's beyond makeup or
costumes.

How did he pull it off?

"You try to remember what it's like to be younger, the openness of your
face and eyes, your zeal, your energy, your quickness," he said. "And as
you grow older and you've had more experiences and you're more nostalgic
and you've experienced more loss, it slows you down. You just have the
weight of that feeling. You work on it scene-by-scene, but you find ways to
make your movements more deliberate and smaller."

Into the West unfolds in six two-hour parts. TNT is presenting Part 1
tonight, Saturday and Sunday at 7 p.m. Part 2 will air Friday-Sunday next
weekend, and so on. It's a massive commitment to watch, which is why TNT is
making it as convenient to see as possible.

It's not a masterpiece but worth watching.

mike.mcdaniel@...

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle