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| awesomelyluvvie.com |
I have to admit, when I first heard that Ryan Murphy (the guy behind American Horror Story) was doing a drama about the OJ Simpson trial, I was more than a little skeptical. I mean, come on, that guy? What, was he gonna have OJ butcher people to some trendy song with a bunch of weird camera tricks going on? Would there be some secret, and completely ludicrous, plot twist midway through? More importantly, would he turn this serious topic into a complete farce? These questions and more racked my brain as I waited for this to air, and to my surprise, Murphy and his creative team created the best TV show I’ve seen in a very long time. Why is that? Let’s find out.
Listen, we all know the story, and the show follows it to a tee. Based on the book by Jeffrey Toobin, the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman start off the show (well, almost, but I’ll get to that), and it follows the trial of OJ Simpson (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) as the prosecution team of Marcia Clark (Sarah Paulson) and Chris Darden (Sterling K. Brown) battles the crack defense team assembled by Robert Shapiro (John Travolta) and led by Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance). However, it turns out that there was a treasure trove of important facts that we didn’t see, which is ironic given how public this trial was. We never saw what happened to the jurors and what was basically their imprisonment in a hotel during the trial, or how OJ’s best friend Robert Kardashian (David Schwimmer) slowly began to doubt his innocence, or how close the trial came to an early end due to the defense's "smoking gun" Fuhrman tapes. Every little piece of information fits into the bigger picture, and the new stories that you didn’t know only provides answers to that frustrating question: “Why wasn’t OJ convicted?”
One of the best things about this show, and how the plot unfolds, is the way that the events are structured. Rather than starting off with the murder scene, Murphy chooses to begin with footage of the L.A. riots, which took place after the police officers who brutally assaulted Rodney King were acquitted. This immediately sets the mood for the entire series, establishing the underlying tension that each character feels as they approach this trial, and it does it without a single word of dialogue. You see that the city is on edge and when characters like Robert Shapiro say they fear that the riots will return if OJ is convicted, you really understand why. Plus, even though you know in your mind how the series will end, it still makes you feel tense as you realize exactly what is at stake here should the prosecution actually win, which is very rare in shows like this.
Something I really enjoyed is that during the trial, each of the big “turning point” moments are given enough heft without beating you over the head with it. For example, the jury selection scene immediately sticks out to the viewer (especially those who were alive during this time and know what unfolds next) as a huge misstep, though the show doesn’t use any big dramatic acting beats or obnoxious musical cues to show that it is. The scene is allowed to breathe like any other, but the audience’s knowledge of what’s to come adds to the whole experience, making it even more memorable. It’s one of the more brilliant ways the show plays on how publicized this event was, using it for dramatic effect rather than cheap nostalgia, like Hollywood tends to do, and it extends to every other major beat in the show, from the discovery of the Furhman tapes to Darden's explosion in the middle of court.
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| ew.com
And we all know how well this went.
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It should go without saying that, given Ryan Murphy’s casts for the American Horror Story seasons, that People v. OJ has an outstanding cast. While I was expecting the main roles to be cast well, I was blown away to discover that no role (small or large) was given to a mediocre actor. Our big actors in this series (Paulson, Travolta, Schwimmer, etc) get the most screentime, but it’s the performers like Selma Blair (playing Kris Jenner), Connie Britton (playing Faye Resnick), and Bruce Greenwood (as Gil Garcetti), among others, who impressed me. They bring so much to such small parts that you really feel like you’re watching something important. It’s actually Fred Goldman (Joseph Siravo) who has the most powerful line of the season in my book, telling Marcia Clark to not forget that this trial is about the murder of his son and Nicole, not OJ Simpson’s popularity.
The main cast brings their A-games as well, making the most of every scene they’re in. John Travolta does great work for the first time in awhile, bringing a humanity and sense of feeling to such a slimy and slippery character. David Schwimmer perhaps has the most thankless yet still important role of the whole cast, playing the background cheerleader for OJ as the trial goes on. However, it’s his arc that resonates the most with us, since we watch him break down in the face of reality and OJ’s probable guilt. For his part, Cuba Gooding, Jr. does a fantastic job with his surprisingly limited role, imbuing a man we all know to be a murderer with some true emotion and making him a three-dimensional character. It’s hard to imagine feeling anything resembling sympathy for OJ Simpson, but watching Cuba Gooding, Jr. you really do. That last shot of him, after everything is over, holds so much weight just because of his performance that it really boggles my mind.
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| dailymail.co.uk
That awkward moment when you find out bae is guilty of double homicide.
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All of the accolades should go to the two lead performers here, Sarah Paulson and Courtney B. Vance, who give some of the most impressive performances this reviewer has ever seen. Paulson shows the full arc of Marcia Clark, from her borderline arrogance at the beginning to the broken down and empathetic lawyer she becomes, with mere facial expressions and body language. Marcia Clark experienced horrible sexism throughout the trial, whether it was being mocked in public for buying tampons or having her perm make her the object of ridicule in the middle of the courtroom, and along with the downwards-spiraling case she goes through quite the emotional ringer. It’s because of Paulson’s excellent work that these beats hit so hard and we root for her the entire time, even when she's making things that we now know to be mistakes.
Courtney B. Vance, on the other hand, is absolutely magnetic as Johnnie Cochran, capturing the real life version’s preacher-like energy and confidence almost effortlessly. Listening to him spin the crazy, unsubstantiated stories the defense concocted, you almost see why the jury would believe him. His words carry a certain weight to them, and that's because Cochran was driven by the genuine belief that the notoriously racist Los Angeles Police Department was targeting OJ because he was black. Given the context that the show places before us, the audience sees where he is coming from, making his crusade almost admirable. Cochran has his own moments of weakness and deals with racism in certain situations, but Vance captivates us with every word.
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| themuse.jezebel.com
The show, summed up in one GIF.
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One of the reasons this show works as well as it does is that it shows just how little has changed between the 90’s and today. Racism and sexism are still major issues, especially in the public square, and issues of police brutality, privilege subverting the law, and obsession with celebrity have only become more prevalent. The show never makes a point of preaching to the audience, but that’s probably because it’s impossible to miss the parallels. The public’s hesitance to condemn OJ in the show recalls the public’s recent defense of Bill Cosby, and the way people tear into Marcia Clark for her appearance also reminds us of how women are denigrated for superficial reasons even when they're the victims of crime. The most depressing foreshadowing comes in the final exchange between Chris Darden and Johnnie Cochran, where Darden congratulates Cochran and bitterly reminds him that this victory will not help the black community, which OJ abandoned to chase fame. The events of the past few years give these lines so much more resonance, making it sad to see that nothing has really changed and that we are doomed to repeat this cycle until we make it end.
I honestly think that this is a borderline perfect show, but one thing really bugged me about it: the Kardashians. No, not Robert or Kris Jenner, but the kids that pop up a few times in the first few episodes. They, like their grown-up versions, are completely annoying and add nothing to the plot minus the obvious “this is where their obsession with fame came from” point. Other than that, though, I think it’s about as good a TV show as there is.
The last image we see on the show is a picture of Nicole Brown next to a picture of Ron Goldman, showing us what this trial was truly supposed to be about. It’s a powerful reminder of the important things that were lost in the shuffle, and it really hits hard given that we most likely forgot about them too, just like the jury did. The People v. OJ Simpson is part of an anthology series titled American Crime Story (no, not THAT other show), but it’s hard to see how Ryan Murphy will top this season. A great cast and an emotionally powerful story, along with a technically perfect production, make this one of the best shows of the past decade, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it cleans up at the Emmys this year, because it deserves it. You're honestly doing yourself a massive disservice if you're not watching this incredibly important piece of television.
The People v. OJ Simpson is available on FX's website, and American Crime Story has been renewed for another season.
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