Product Description
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Justified is the story of Deputy U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens
(Timothy Olyphant), a true-blue hero and something of a
throwback, given to wearing a Stetson and cowboy boots, carrying
his sidearm in a hip holster – a weapon he only draws when he has
to, and when he does, he shoots to kill, because, as he sees it,
that’s the purpose of a . The character of Deputy U.S. Marshal
Raylan Givens was created by America’s pre-eminent crime novelist
Elmore Leonard (Get Shorty, Out of ) and is played by
Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood, Live Free or Die Hard). The Chief
Deputy of the Lexington USMS office is Art Mullen, played by Nick
Searcy (Cast Away, From the Earth to the Moon). Working alongside
Raylan are fellow deputies Tim Gutterson – played by Jacob Pitts
(The Pacific) – and Rachel Brooks – played by Erica Tazel (Life,
The Office). Raylan, Art and the other deputies do what all U.S.
Marshals do – chase down fugitives, protect witnesses, transport
prisoners.
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Prolific and much-respected author Elmore Leonard's novels have
fared poorly when they've been adapted to the small
screen--remember Maximum Bob? Karen Sisco?--but the
Western-cum--drama Justified breaks the losing streak
thanks to the tightly wound performance of star Timothy Olyphant
(Deadwood) and solid scripting and direction. Olyphant's Marshal
Raylan Givens, whom readers met in the novels Pronto and Riding
the Rap (as well as the short "Fire in the Hole," which serves as
the basis for the pilot episode), is a man of few words and
deadly who is sent back to his hometown of Harlan County,
Kentucky, after shooting first and asking questions later with an
oily gangster. Once ensconced in the coal belt, Givens runs afoul
of childhood friend Boyd Crowder (the terrific Walton Goggins
from The Shield), who's gone from mining to white supremacy and
murder. Also competing for Givens's attention are local girl Ava
(Joelle Carter), whose crush on the marshal doesn't quite obscure
the fact that she's just murdered her husband, and his her,
Arlo (the always-solid character actor Raymond J. Barry), whose
criminal career is a millstone around Givens's neck. Justified is
most compelling when it focuses on Crowder, who grows more
dangerous as the series unfolds; when it sends Givens to pursue
less complex criminals like dentist Roland Pike (Alan Ruck in
"Long in the Tooth") or play hostage negotiator ("Blowback"), the
results are fine but hew closer to standard TV drama fare.
What keeps the show out of that particular ditch is Olyphant's
performance, as tightly wound as his turn on Deadwood but with a
hint of grim humor; he's well supported by the cast, including
Nick Searcy as his boss and M.C. Gainey (Lost) as Crowder's
equally hot-wired her. An array of fine directors, including
John Dahl (Red Rock West), actor Tony Goldwyn (Conviction), Rod
Holcomb (The Good Wife), and Jon Avnet (Fried Green Tomatoes),
also lends a cinematic quality to the episodes.
Extras include commentary by the cast and crew on four episodes,
including the always-wry Olyphant on "Hatless" and executive
producer Graham Yost (The Pacific) and director Michael Dinner on
"Fire in the Hole." Leonard's influence on the series is explored
in a 20-minute feature called "What Would Elmore Do?," which
served as a mantra for the production team whenever they found
themselves in a creative bind. Short, EPK-style featurettes
covering the show's inception, Kentucky locations, and its
marshal advisers round out the set. --Paul Gaita