Female Film Critics 24/375
If you’re intrigued by fanaticism and the corruption of political power, binge the new Netflix miniseries Death by Lighting, revolving around the assassination of James A. Garfield, the 20th President of the United States. This historical drama begins in 1969 at the Army Medical Museum where a cleaning crew discovers a jar containing the brain of Charles J. Guiteau who crossed paths with then-Ohio Congressman James Garfield back in 1880.
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With the death of its founder, Sir Benjamin Guinness in 1868, trouble began brewing in the House of Guinness as power struggles, generational confidences and sexual scandals start to taint the Irish family’s iconic heritage. As the eight-episode miniseries progresses and the Guinness dynasty grows, we’re eager to learn more about aristocratic Arthur, the eldest and obvious heir, who spent the past five years in London and makes no secret about wishing to run for Parliament, and idealistic Edward, who possesses both the ambition and aptitude to take control of the family business.
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Creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman skirt in and out of the criminal underworld, never fully committing to an urban crime drama. While actor/director Jason Bateman was able to artfully juggle financial disaster, family crises and ethical/moral dilemmas for four seasons of Ozark, it doesn’t work here. You just don’t care about the miserably dysfunctional, co-dependent brothers or their stumbling subplots.
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The eight episode, 2020 miniseries Defending Jacob tackles a heartbreaking crime, the murder of a teenage boy by a classmate. Obvious clues, scattered through several episodes, all point to Jacob. Numerous other details and a handful of unnecessary subplots intrude, padding out eight episodes that should have been no more than six.
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Set in the not-too-distant future, Thomas Vinterberg’s seven-episode miniseries “Families Like Ours” chronicles what happens when calamitous climate change forces six million Danish citizens to flee slowly encroaching sea water. Writer Bo Hr. Hansen mergers personal, plausible dilemmas with issues caused by the global disaster,. The series focuses on storytelling and performance without using elaborate special effects and technology; which involves shooting on-location and using only natural sound for an authentic cinematic experience.
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Secrets of the Penguins is a revelatory three-part NatGeo miniseries that boasts penguin behaviors never seen by human eyes before. Filled with heart-pounding action, heart-felt connections and heart-stopping natural beauty, these “Secrets” more than deliver an emotional, eye-opening experience for viewers of all ages. The miniseries doesn’t attempt to cover all 18 species of penguins, but it takes a deep dive on several species spanning the southern half of the globe from Antarctica to the equator. Some species are veering dangerously close to extinction. Some boast expanding populations. But all are having to adapt to a world in which human activity has changed the way of life penguins have known for eons. For the most part, humans are background characters here. The main exception is National Geographic Explorer and wildlife cinematographer Bertie Gregory. The enthusiastic British filmmaker/presenter doesn’t try to hide his excitement as he observes and cheers on his diminutive subjects.
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Some rare directors and writers risk alienating audiences by populating their stories with unlikable characters, principals to supporting participants. The only entertainment, so to speak, may be watching the deeply flawed individuals get their comeuppance, enjoyment derived from their fall. A case can be made that this applies to the Netflix miniseries A Man in Full.
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Set in 1776, when the American Colonies were losing more battles than they won in their armed rebellion, this eight-part series chronicles how Benjamin Franklin, as one of the new nation’s Founding Fathers, traveled to France to try to secure that country’s support and financial aid in their fight for Independence from England. While his tactics were unconventional, charismatic Franklin was eventually able to forge the Franco-American alliance of 1778, which led to a peace treaty with England in 1778 and Independence.
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Shōgun explores 1600 Japan’s internal and external crises. Based on James Clavell’s 1975 novel, the new, ten episode Shōgun miniseries honors the country and time period of Japan, 1600. Into that world of internal and external strife, the British ship captain John Blackthorne thrusts himself, antagonistic to the Portuguese traders and Jesuit missionaries already established there. He is also appallingly uneducated in the culture he encounters.
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