One should always approach docudramas with a particular level of caution, since as classical philologist Thomas Fleming pointed out, they are crafted to fool viewers into thinking that they are history rather than entertainment. Even so, the 'Impeachment' saga of the dalliances and fabrications that nearly brought down Bill Clinton is telegenic in its own right: indeed, it's such a colorful story it hardly needs any speculation or fictionalizing at all to make for a well-tied, entertaining narrative. This particular take certainly does the story justice in that department, even if the biases of the source material's writer and of these producers do inevitably show through, notably in the characterizations:
Monica Lewinsky was on the production team, and this version applies a much-needed softening to the treatment of Lewinsky herself, as well as to that of Paula Jones. Jeffrey Toobin's book 'A Vast Conspiracy,' the inspiration for this mini-series, was apparently not so kind to either lady. Even so, the portrayal of Lewinsky opposite Linda Tripp is just a bit lopsided. The script tries to portray Lewinsky as naïve and innocent and Tripp as somewhat cynical and self-aggrandizing, but it can't go as far as Lewinsky herself might have liked: after all, her own cheery complicity in making side business for a *second* married man in her life before she turned 25 is well-documented, in her own voice. The portrayal of Tripp is harder to critique: I believe she was far more convinced and perhaps even convincing than she comes across here of her own moral righteousness for doing what she did. Even so, the late Tripp's daughter has praised the portrayal as doing honor to her mother.
Bill Clinton, not surprisingly, doesn't come across very well at all: he leads Monica on, enjoying what she put out for him while offering at best intermittent and perfunctory warnings about the necessarily finite nature of their tryst. The series takes Hillary Clinton on her word that she found out about Lewinsky only once Bill realizes he would be forced to reverse his statement (Tripp and many others speculate that Hillary had known a long time before). But Hillary doesn't come across very well, either: she's more upset about the consequences for her media image and political future than about having been betrayed in her marriage. She and Bill are both portrayed as having massive egos and savior-like self-images. And Edie Falco was a very curious choice for Hillary Clinton, but I can't help but feel she's channeling her old Carmela Soprano character in a way that overstates the common points between the two ladies.
The other leads are quite well-chosen. Clive Owen is appropriately charming as Slick Willy; Beanie Feldstein is a great Monica Lewinsky; Annaleigh Ashford is appropriately simple and sympathetic as Paula Jones. Sarah Paulson might seem a bit overly "on the edge" as Tripp but she was clearly following instructions from above and it is true that Tripp's pre-plastic-surgery self was (sorry to say it) not especially telegenic. Even the supporting cast is great: Cobie Smulders in particular does a pitch-perfect Ann Coulter. As a general rule the producers were just a bit too keen on portraying a right-wing legal and think-tank apparatus as self-organized and "out for blood". Many on the right did indeed loathe the Clintons and were indeed on the lookout for anything to take him down, but it's important to remember that Bill Clinton was if anything a victim of his own "Violence Against Women Act," which Jones used as a pretext to open his sex CV to the world, and of his own mishandling of his affairs and obsession with "damage control."
The production values are excellent, from the shots to the music to the lighting. One is smackdab in the middle of the Washington, D. C. of the late 1990s, with all the excitement, tension, jealousy and anticipation there was at those moments. Episode 8 is perhaps the best: this one steers the camera away from Tripp and Lewinsky chronicles Hillary's "standing by her man" beginning with a flashback to her saving his 1992 after the Gennifer Flowers revelations, and it's just electric. In the same episode, we get to see Bill's ill-conceived attempt to have bin Laden downed with missiles into the Sudan while he was on semi-holiday at Martha's Vineyard, and it comes across as a hoot (that sounds awful, but 25 years on I think we have the right to "laugh or die" over such things), especially in light of the dynamic duo's outsized world-savoir complex. Overall a wonderful stroll down memory lane for those who remember that period, provided you're not too inclined to make sacred cows of either the left-wing or the right-wing players in this part of history.
Monica Lewinsky was on the production team, and this version applies a much-needed softening to the treatment of Lewinsky herself, as well as to that of Paula Jones. Jeffrey Toobin's book 'A Vast Conspiracy,' the inspiration for this mini-series, was apparently not so kind to either lady. Even so, the portrayal of Lewinsky opposite Linda Tripp is just a bit lopsided. The script tries to portray Lewinsky as naïve and innocent and Tripp as somewhat cynical and self-aggrandizing, but it can't go as far as Lewinsky herself might have liked: after all, her own cheery complicity in making side business for a *second* married man in her life before she turned 25 is well-documented, in her own voice. The portrayal of Tripp is harder to critique: I believe she was far more convinced and perhaps even convincing than she comes across here of her own moral righteousness for doing what she did. Even so, the late Tripp's daughter has praised the portrayal as doing honor to her mother.
Bill Clinton, not surprisingly, doesn't come across very well at all: he leads Monica on, enjoying what she put out for him while offering at best intermittent and perfunctory warnings about the necessarily finite nature of their tryst. The series takes Hillary Clinton on her word that she found out about Lewinsky only once Bill realizes he would be forced to reverse his statement (Tripp and many others speculate that Hillary had known a long time before). But Hillary doesn't come across very well, either: she's more upset about the consequences for her media image and political future than about having been betrayed in her marriage. She and Bill are both portrayed as having massive egos and savior-like self-images. And Edie Falco was a very curious choice for Hillary Clinton, but I can't help but feel she's channeling her old Carmela Soprano character in a way that overstates the common points between the two ladies.
The other leads are quite well-chosen. Clive Owen is appropriately charming as Slick Willy; Beanie Feldstein is a great Monica Lewinsky; Annaleigh Ashford is appropriately simple and sympathetic as Paula Jones. Sarah Paulson might seem a bit overly "on the edge" as Tripp but she was clearly following instructions from above and it is true that Tripp's pre-plastic-surgery self was (sorry to say it) not especially telegenic. Even the supporting cast is great: Cobie Smulders in particular does a pitch-perfect Ann Coulter. As a general rule the producers were just a bit too keen on portraying a right-wing legal and think-tank apparatus as self-organized and "out for blood". Many on the right did indeed loathe the Clintons and were indeed on the lookout for anything to take him down, but it's important to remember that Bill Clinton was if anything a victim of his own "Violence Against Women Act," which Jones used as a pretext to open his sex CV to the world, and of his own mishandling of his affairs and obsession with "damage control."
The production values are excellent, from the shots to the music to the lighting. One is smackdab in the middle of the Washington, D. C. of the late 1990s, with all the excitement, tension, jealousy and anticipation there was at those moments. Episode 8 is perhaps the best: this one steers the camera away from Tripp and Lewinsky chronicles Hillary's "standing by her man" beginning with a flashback to her saving his 1992 after the Gennifer Flowers revelations, and it's just electric. In the same episode, we get to see Bill's ill-conceived attempt to have bin Laden downed with missiles into the Sudan while he was on semi-holiday at Martha's Vineyard, and it comes across as a hoot (that sounds awful, but 25 years on I think we have the right to "laugh or die" over such things), especially in light of the dynamic duo's outsized world-savoir complex. Overall a wonderful stroll down memory lane for those who remember that period, provided you're not too inclined to make sacred cows of either the left-wing or the right-wing players in this part of history.