...is that it shines a light on LBJ's very significant accomplishments (civil rights, voting rights, Medicare, Medicaid) which were largely wiped from my generation's collective consciousness. This film ends with Johnson's sweeping election victory in 1964, but by 1968 he became one of the most despised presidents in history for his escalation of the war in Vietnam.
For those of us who lived through this era, this sort of biopic is a hard sell. We remember all too vividly the reality of Johnson, Humphrey, King, and all the rest. It's petty to remark that Dr. King didn't have the movie star looks of Anthony Mackie. Or that Hubert Humphrey was a lot plumper than Bradley Whitford, and his high pitched staccato speaking voice beyond Whitford's reach. Other characters are done either spot on or way off. I suppose no one could capture the essence of Sen. Dirksen without coming dangerously close to Foghorn Leghorn. But Bob McNamara looks right, and the always reliable Stephen Root brings the right manic intensity to his J. Edgar Hoover.
Ultimately it's Bryan Cranston who makes the sell. He's utterly convincing. We feel we're seeing LBJ on screen. Only occasionally does the facade crack to show the actor underneath. But for the most part it's uncanny--if not a little eerie--how accurately he portrays Johnson.
The script is about what you expect for a biopic. The kind of exposition necessary to explain who is who and what is what. It's tiresome for those of us who lived through it, but a necessary evil I suppose for anyone under age fifty. And for those under thirty who seem to have got a college degree without knowing much about anything, this will be a useful primer on the early 60s.
For those of us who lived through this era, this sort of biopic is a hard sell. We remember all too vividly the reality of Johnson, Humphrey, King, and all the rest. It's petty to remark that Dr. King didn't have the movie star looks of Anthony Mackie. Or that Hubert Humphrey was a lot plumper than Bradley Whitford, and his high pitched staccato speaking voice beyond Whitford's reach. Other characters are done either spot on or way off. I suppose no one could capture the essence of Sen. Dirksen without coming dangerously close to Foghorn Leghorn. But Bob McNamara looks right, and the always reliable Stephen Root brings the right manic intensity to his J. Edgar Hoover.
Ultimately it's Bryan Cranston who makes the sell. He's utterly convincing. We feel we're seeing LBJ on screen. Only occasionally does the facade crack to show the actor underneath. But for the most part it's uncanny--if not a little eerie--how accurately he portrays Johnson.
The script is about what you expect for a biopic. The kind of exposition necessary to explain who is who and what is what. It's tiresome for those of us who lived through it, but a necessary evil I suppose for anyone under age fifty. And for those under thirty who seem to have got a college degree without knowing much about anything, this will be a useful primer on the early 60s.