If you look at the current crop of superheroes, cartoon characters, franchises, and remakes dominating the big screen, it’s not surprise that more performers are turning to television. Julia Roberts and Sean Penn are two of the many movie stars who have made the transition from the silver screen to the small screen, and their previous work has been either exciting or disappointing.
“Gaslit,” the imperfect but intriguing Starz series about the Watergate crisis that ultimately led to Richard Nixon’s resignation as president, now features Roberts and Penn together.
For the most part, the film “Gaslit” centres on Roberts’ Martha Mitchell, an outspoken lady eager to air her thoughts on Nixon’s role in the botched June 1972 break-in at the DNC offices in Washington, D.C.. Watergate burglars were linked to Nixon’s re-election campaign after they were apprehended.
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Nixon and his allies were scrambling to cover up the abuses of power that brought down the Nixon presidency, but Martha Mitchell, who had become known as “The Mouth from the South,” was giving interviews, contacting reporters at all hours, and becoming an even larger nuisance for Nixon and his allies.
Since her marriage to former Nixon attorney general and chairman of his re-election committee John Mitchell raised her stature even more, Martha Mitchell was a household name. For his involvement in the Watergate cover-up and subsequent conviction on charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and perjury, Mitchell was exonerated of all charges.
Penn portrays John Mitchell, a man who is both rude and clearly in love with Martha, to the point of being flirtatious about having sex with her — oh, the horror!
Eight-episode series based on “Slow Burn” podcast about Watergate. Robbie Pickering, who has worked on “Mr. Robot” and is an executive producer for “Gaslit,” devised the programme. ‘Silicon Valley’ actor Matt Ross, who also wrote and directed ‘Captain Fantastic,’ starring Viggo Mortensen and shot in Washington state, is the film’s director.
In the first seven episodes, the show’s creative team has created a darkly humorous series that gradually becomes darker and more dramatic.
Without overdoing the historical details, the 1970s setting is accurately depicted, and the Nixon administration’s racial and sexist attitudes are clearly seen..
The show’s attempt to depict the stories of other people implicated in the Watergate crisis is less effective. In the case of John Dean (Dan Stevens), the White House attorney who became famous following his televised testimony regarding Nixon, the attempted cover-up and Nixon’s secret recordings, we see a lot more than we need to see.
“Downton Abbey” star Dan Stevens plays Dean with a dry sense of humour, making him look cocky and insecure at the same time, as he comes to understand that his job has put him in peril. Like his wife, Betty Gilpin knows a lot about this subject. As for why the programme contains explicit interactions between these two characters, it’s hard to understand why they’re ever included in the first place.
“Gaslit” has a stellar cast, like many current television programmes. During a terrifying scene in which Martha Mitchell was imprisoned against her will in a California hotel, Roberts makes Martha Mitchell engaging, ranging from acerbic and charming to scared.
Even though he is heavily padded and covered in make-up, Penn is still quite effective. His John Mitchell is rough and calculating, and in a crucial duel with Martha, utterly brutal.
Frank Wills (played by Patrick R. Walker), a Watergate security guard who discovered that the burglars had tampered with the locks, is a narrative that the series fails to adequately tell. Shea Whigham, despite his considerable talent, is unable to capture the essence of G. Gordon Liddy, the mastermind behind the Watergate break-in. There is a certain machismo about Liddy in the real world that Whigham, like much of “Gaslit,” manages to tap into at times.
The debut of “Gaslit” will take place on Sunday, April 24 at 8 p.m. ET on Starz.
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