Where to find it: Netflix
Length: Four 55-minute episodes
Synopsis: American political miniseries
Recommendation rating: 3/5
What I like about it: funny, entertaining, historical
What I don’t like about it: could’ve been a movie
Review:
This historical four-parter follows three strands; the first is principled Republican outsider James Garfield (Michael Shannon), who quickly rises to Presidential nominee thanks to a grand speech and an exhausted convention. The second is the corrupt Republican establishment hoping to control President Garfield, represented primarily by his hard-drinking V.P. Chester A. Arthur (Nick Offerman). Finally, in arrestingly pathetic form is Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Guiteau, a style-over-substance conman fated to enact regime change which benefits the establishment.
It’s well-written, well-acted, entertaining and a genuinely interesting episode of American politics. It could have been shorter but it doesn’t drag.
Content notes (may contain spoilers): sex