MOVIES FOR WINTER NIGHTS, PART II

Here I sit, late at night, toes frozen, in my paper strewn office, tapping away on a prehistoric computer keyboard, to tell you more about the movies I have been watching this winter. The first is John Adams, the lavish HBO miniseries that has been hoisted with high acclaim.

It stars Paul Giamatti and Laura Lynley, two stars I would never think of putting together. Consummate actors, they manage to spin a grand illusion throughout this long and increasingly tedious production. The first few episodes are truly remarkable and surging, but this dramatic tension is slowly lost over the following episodes. Adams did not apparently spend the Revolutionary War fighting the war – he was overseas talking, talking, talking, in diplomatic circles.

This movie gave me great blocks of information about our Founding Fathers but I really wanted to see the story plunged back into some good rollicking Revolutionary action. Call me a typical American: we just love a good battle! Besides, with respect to John Adams, the real unsung hero of this movie is the Founding Mother of Our Country, Abigail Adams. This movie is, however, worthy of the time it takes to see it. As Americans, we need a good cup of wake-up coffee to remind. The production values here are stupendous, the costumes, the historical accuracy of the customs shown (the treatment of a woman’s breast cancer and early small pox inoculations), the movie is a crafted piece that stands with high value despite being dialogue heavy.