To fill in some space before I start my regular film reviews again, I wanted to begin my next series of TV reviews with the much publicized The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. As I explained in my review of Billions on Tuesday, my first review of any new show will be spoiler-free and will mainly exist to set up the show. Subsequent reviews will be spoiler reviews and I expect that if you read the following reviews then you have seen the episode. Also as I explained before, my true review will be at the end of the season where I review the season as one collective whole. Until then, my episode reviews will be simple and will mainly be my thoughts without diving too deep. So, without further ado, let's talk about Ryan Murphy's new anthology series.
If you do not know about the famous O.J. Simpson trial, then I am very surprised. However, I will somewhat explain it briefly so you know what true story this show is mining from. On June 12th 1994, the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found in front of Brown's condo in LA. Nicole Brown just so happens to be the ex-wife of NFL star and actor O.J. Simpson who is traveling to Chicago around the time of the discovery of the bodies. Shortly after the investigation starts, key evidence was found and O.J. became a prime suspect for their murders. In case you do not know what happened after this and you want to follow the events of the show and how they unfold naturally, I will leave the synopsis there. Needless to say, what followed was one of the most publicized trials in American history and it basically gave birth to 24 hour news coverage. This unfolding tragedy enveloped the American people. Everyone had to know what was going to happen and find out what really did happen to Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Could a celebrity really be capable of murder?
Ryan Murphy's new anthology series focuses on the events surrounding this case and on the many different people involved in investigating and defending. Cuba Gooding Jr. plays O.J. and he gives the role a great deal of layers and sophistication. Equally impressive is Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clarke, the prosecutor for the O.J. Simpson case. This is a very strong performance from her so far and it will be very interesting to see how this character develops throughout this limited season. There are many other actors filling up the roster for this series to the point where it is genuinely impressive. It rivals most American films, The rest of this cast includes John Travolta, David Schwimmer, Nathan Lane, Selma Blair, among others. For a season of television, the amount of talent on screen is rather incredible.
This first episode is involving and riveting. There are so many angles that this show takes to its subject, including race relations, celebrity and pop culture, class systems, and so on. There are characters that represent every single one of these issues coming in to this true life story from every angle, giving the audience a great amount of material to chew on. What the final thesis of this season will be is up in the air, but I am sure it will be a very interesting road to get there.
This is one of the best first episodes of television I have seen in quite some time. However, Ryan Murphy seems to have this pattern where his shows start off excellent, as well as individual seasons of his shows, and then they fall apart into a sloppy mess. He seems to tell his writers to throw every idea they can up onto the screen without giving them a coherent thematic structure to hang on to. There are never any stakes or emotional involvement after that because there is never any sense of progression. Everything just sort of happens and none of it ends up mattering. The one exception to this case I would argue is The Normal Heart, the excellent film directed by Ryan Murphy for HBO that starred Mark Ruffalo, Julia Roberts, Taylor Kitsch, and Matt Bomer. That was also a film based on a true story and it ended up being an exceptionally powerful and heartbreaking piece of work that paid respect to the true events while still being an effective piece of pop drama. I am hoping that The People v. O.J. Simpson is a continuation of that success and not of his rather sloppy and disappointing American Horror Story and Glee.
So far, this is a great start for the American Crime Story anthology and I cannot wait to see what is in store next. There are bound to be some great performance showcases up ahead and it should be some very moving material. Stay tuned for next week as I dig into the next episode!
Grade: A.
The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story airs every Tuesday night at 10 PM on FX.
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