John Adams, TV mini-series (2008)

John and Abigail Adams, during their younger days in the
Boston area. There's never any doubt as to just how tough
people had to be just to survive in those days. Without some
North Face gear and a Costco nearby, most of us probably
would have been dead inside a month.

A great, dramatic look at one of the less glamorous founding fathers of the United States, looking at some of the seminal moments during the United States' formation and its earliest decades as an independent country.

Based on the book by best-selling biographer David McCullough, John Adams is a 7-part mini-series that dramatizes the many key actions, momentous occasions, and shifting relationships in the long life of the U.S.'s second president. It was this show that taught me, along with probably millions of other people, just how many critical moments in U.S. history involved Adams in one way or another. It's not always dramatic, often depicting Adams's moments of intense boredom and isolation from more important events. And there are plenty of moments dedicated to his relationships with his wife and children, which can often be slower and more tender. But if you enjoy a sense of an authentic, well-rounded look at an important historical figure, then it's hard not to like this.

The show is divided into its seven episodes based on fairly distinct periods in the life of John Adams and the country:

1. His time as a respected lawyer in Boston, before the actual start of the Revolutionary War.
2. The events that build up to the Founding Fathers deciding to declare Independence from Britain, officially declaring war against the most powerful army in the world. 
3. The Revolutionary War, most of which Adams spent in Europe trying to gain support from potential ally nations such as France and Holland.
4. After the U.S. defeats the British, Adams is back in the U.S., representing Massachusetts and negotiating with other states' representatives to form the new government.
5. Adams's eight years as the country's first vice president, serving under George Washington.
6. Adams's single four-year term as the country's second president.
7. Adams's twenty-five years of post-presidential "retirement," mostly back on his farm in Massachusetts. 

George Washington's inauguration in Philadelphia. David
Morse's turn as the country's quiet but beloved first president
was just one of the countless great performances throughout
this series.

Across all seven episodes, we see how Adams was a highly principled, honorable man who stuck to his convictions with intense ferocity. Ferocity, in fact, which often repelled colleagues and sometimes even friends and allies. By all accounts, the man had a vicious temper which often cost him greater support. The show does nothing to sugarcoat this part of his nature, often showing his frequent blowups at anyone who spends more than an hour or two with him. This is one of several aspects of the show which set it apart from many other biopics - it makes very clear that, in more than a few ways, the subject was not always easy to like. But this also drives home the fact that his merits were strong enough to overcome them. As disagreeable and pugnacious as the man could be, John Adams's integrity was such that he reached the highest offices in the country. Even modern historians rate his presidency as generally a positive one, despite only being one term.

All of this is brought to life through amazing film techniques and production values, on every possible level. The acting is impeccable, with Paul Giamatti turning in a masterpiece performance as the stocky, snarling, combative man of rule and law. Playing his wife - noted mind Abigail Adams - was Laura Linney, who exhibits every bit of the intelligence, tenderness, and toughness that the real Mrs. Adams apparently had. And every one of the many supporting actors nailed their roles, from the most famous to the lesser-knowns and unknowns from over two centuries ago. If you know anything about this time period, there's plenty of fun to be had in seeing how founders like Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, Hamilton, and others are depicted, and there's plenty to be learned about those people we don't read much about in our history books in school.

The writing is incredible. While the show is based on David McCullough's biography, the scripts were all written by Kirk Ellis, who seemed to have a brilliant eye and ear for distilling key moments into efficient scenes, taught with gravity and emotion. My wife, a poet with an especially keen ear for anachronistic language, was extremely impressed by the authentic diction used throughout the show. This was probably due in part to Ellis's drawing from Adams's and others' original notes and correspondences. However it was done, there's a wonderfully genuine, erudite sound to the dialogue that reminds us of just how learned and articulate this country's leading minds were at the time.

In the third episode, we're treated to more humorous moments,
such as the sore thumb John Adams trying to bully his way
through a wildly decadent France. His partner, Ben Franklin
(far left) had no such trouble in the libertine country.

Then there are the visuals. The sets and costumes are amazing. Not in a dazzling way, but rather they looked like they could have been the very real places the events depicted occurred and the very real clothing that these people wore. I can't be sure, be it seems that there was no artificial lighting used at all - only candlelight when necessary, giving an even deeper sense of authenticity to the look and feel of everything. Going a step further, the showrunners decided not to use any type of makeup or cosmetics that didn't actually exist at the time. We see freckles and skin discolorations, badly stained teeth, and frizzy hair aplenty. Some viewers might find this unpleasing to look at, but I enjoyed the almost tangible reality of it.

The only thing about this entire show that got to me a bit by the final couple of episodes was a minor visual element - that the show uses a ton of closeups. And I don't mean regular closeups. I mean "you can count each scraggly hair in Paul Giamatti's nostrils and ears" kind of closeups. For much of the show's length, this shoulder-to-shoulder proximity works well to convey intimacy, but there was a point where it eventually made me feel a bit claustrophobic.

This is just a great show, and it always will be. I would love to see the same treatment given to several other key figures in this country's history, or any country's history for that matter. Short of reading a thorough biography of a key historical figure, this is maybe the best example of how to tell such a story in cinema.