Gaslit

The ads got me and I subscribed to Starz just to see this. How could a cast like this be bad? Well, it can't. I am really happy to say it's off to a great start. The cast is awesome and Martha Mitchell deserved better than she got. I love the photography and the gratuitous nudity. I also like the TV shots. Go Martha. Good luck. Hope it's a big success. This cast can't fail. So far it has a 5.1 rating. Don't believe it. If you don't like this, you just don't get it.

My Review- Gaslit Streaming on Stan

My Rating 8/10 for the series 10/10 for Julia Roberts performance as Martha Mitchell

Not being American I didn't really know anything about Martha Mitchell even though many movies and television dramas concerning the Nixon era and it's spectacular conclusion as a result of The Watergate wiretapping Scandal which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon have been produced over the years.

Great movies like All the President's Men (1976) The Final Days (1989) Nixon (1995) Frost Nixon (2008) and The Post (2017) .

Why I mention movies is that this eight part Tele drama while being very interesting with a story that primarily concerns Martha wife of John Mitchell the 67th Attorney General of the United States who advocated the use of wiretapping without court orders would I think have made a wonderful feature movie.

With two brilliant performances from Julia Roberts as Martha and an unrecognisable Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell in two of their finest career defining roles .

Julia as the outspoken Martha Washington who wasn't afraid to tell the world about the deception ,lies and the scapegoating of the Nixon Administration.

The fashionable term used today to gaslight is a perfect title for this series as Martha Washington was definitely a victim of gaslighting- defined as referring to a specific type of manipulation where the manipulator is trying to get someone else (or a group of people) to question their own reality, memory or perceptions. And it's always a serious problem, according to psychologists.

Martha was certainly abused physically and mentally especially by her husband which led to substance abuse and her loss of any credibility or reputation.

The harrowing somewhat over the top episode 7 titled Year of the Rat is very powerful .It takes place as all hell breaks loose between Martha and John plus we witness the despicable Gordon Liddy going insane in his solidarity confinement.

Another fine performance in Gaslit from British actor Dan Stevens who portrays John Dean who served as White House Counsel under Nixon and was involved in The Watergate cover up. It's hard to imagine Dan Stevens as the young Matthew in series 1 of Downton Abbey.

Gaslit is a very interesting story based on the podcast Slow Burn by Leon Neyfakh.

So far so good but big important question: where are John Dean's big hornrimmed glasses?? I am old enough to have been a young adult during this pivotal time in history. What is super ironic to me is how the very "scandalous " events that took down an administration and changed political history back in 1974 are in current times not worthy of even a second thought. It's all pretty much how it's done these days. God help us, we are living in a sad and very scary era 😳

Good show about what happened, showing the facts and the fumbling. Shea Whigham easily steals the show, playing a psycho so well that he's terrifying. He deserves an Emmy win for this one for sure.

Watching Julia Roberts not intentionally play Julia Roberts turns out to be quite refreshing now that she appears to be evolving into more of a character actress. She doesn't resemble the real Martha Mitchell except in conveying her outsized personality in this intriguing account of the Watergate break-in and the detrimental ramifications on the Nixon administration. Director Matt Ross appears to take cues from the Real Housewives in his dramatic treatment as cartoonish moments were mixed in effectively with the hidden events and conversations that really did occur. Under layers of latex, Sean Penn makes for an appropriately coiled John Mitchell, while Dan Steele looks to be on hyperdrive as John Dean. More entertaining than I expected, especially when the fallout gains momentum toward the end of episode 2.