John Adams

After an epic marketing frenzy, the HBO miniseries John Adams finally began on HBO last night. How is this film different than the PBS or History Channel versions I watched in my AP class in high school? Besides from the pedigree, I'm not sure it is. For the most part, this series is helped by (mostly) inspired casting and a budget large enough to allow for beautiful costumes and a detailed set. Apart from that, I was disappointed. Last night's episodes suffered from poor dramatic timing, a mistaken decision to film hand-held, and awkward use and non-use of score, revealing what must have been a constant debate among the filmmakers: whether the series' final intent was drama or docudrama. While at times the film aspires to be a thinking man's The Patriot, at other times it feels too bogged down in an accurate--or McCulloghian--view of the period leaving the characters feeling almost cartoonish, more "Colonial Williamsburg" then colonial Williamsburg. The best scenes are easily the ones featuring Tom Wilkinson's Ben Franklin who frankly, was the pimp of the Continental Congress. Impishly wheeling and dealing with Adams, Edward Rutledge, John Dickinson and Thomas Jefferson, Wilkinson is by far the most comfortable and alive in his role. Perhaps in the coming episodes the series will settle a bit and find a more compelling middle ground. More to come once Washington crosses the Delaware.