Political Drama

Not long ago, the HBO mini-series John Adams swept every Emmy category in which it was nominated, and was widely praised by critics. I recently decided to see if the seven-episode historical drama was worthy of the hype.

For the most part, it is. It's an expansive and interesting account of a large portion of the man's life. It begins in the early 1770s, as Adams the lawyer defends the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. (There's a bit of history I didn't know!) Each new part advances to another stage of his life, moving through the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, his ambassadorship to France, the vice-presidency, presidency, and ultimately a long 25 year retirement after he failed to win re-election.

It's a really impressive performance by Paul Giamatti, absolutely worthy of the awards he won. In his hands, John Adams is a very human and relatable person all throughout the 50 year period in which we see him.

He's not the only performer delivery top notch work, though. Laury Linney is perhaps even more exceptional as Abigail Adams, and the story gives her plenty of great moments to show the role of a woman and mother in the time period. Stephen Dillane plays Thomas Jefferson, David Morse appears as George Washington, and Tom Wilkinson makes a great Benjamin Franklin. All deliver strong performances, though lots of fine work comes from lesser-known actors filling out the lesser-known historical figures involved in the story.

The production values in this mini-series are startling. It must have cost a fortune to make this, and every cent of it appears on screen. Lavish sets and costumes mix with seamless CG visuals to make the late 1700s (and later, early 1800s) appear as absolutely real as if someone had just found them preserved somewhere and started filming.

But story-wise, the mini-series is on a sort of inverted bell curve. While fascinating and intellectually stimulating from beginning to end, the most emotionally moving material bookends the mini-series. The first episode, before Adams has taken up politics, and the last chapter, after he has been forced to retire from them, are far and away the most powerful episodes in the whole. The second episode, that follows all the backroom dealings and social wranglings needed to sign the Declaration of Independence, is also very dramatic. Yet John Adams' time with status and in power comes off a less compelling story. Oh, we feel the frustration of a man who is ultimately unhappy with the duties before him (in large part thanks to Giamatti's performance), but it isn't as gripping as the stories told about him when he is just a "citizen" in early America.

Regardless of this, the mini-series is still very much worth watching, and a real must-see for anyone who enjoys history and historical entertainment. It's hard to do any better than this without taking more liberties with the facts (as, say, a show like Deadwood did). I'd rate the series overall a B+, though some episodes in it would certainly get an A from me.