Miniseries: John Adams

My Rating

(out of 5 envelopes):

MPAA Rating: NR(not rated)

Runtime: 501 minutes

Genre: Drama, Biography, Miniseries

I had heard a lot of hype about this miniseries and I wasn’t sure if it could live up to all it was supposed to be. I found it even better than what I had heard.

John Adams is a seven episode miniseries(spread over 3 DVDs) presented by HBO about the life of John Adams from the beginning of the American Revolution until his death. Paul Giamatti stars as the title character John Adams and Laura Linney costars as Abigail Adams. The seven episodes are:

Episode 1: Join or Die.

The Boston Massacre to Adams’ departure for the First Continental Congress.

Episode 2: Independance.
The First Continental Congress to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence.

Episode 3: Don't Tread on Me.
Adams travels to France with Ben Franklin to help rally support for America against the British. Adams leaves France for Holland.

Episode 4: Reunion.

Adams returns to Paris to reunite with Abigail. He is called upon to represent America to the English crown. He returns to America to become Vice President.

Episode 5: Unite or Die.

Adams serves as the VP to George Washington. Ends with John Adams accepting the presidency.

Episode 6: Unnecessary War.

Adams takes his role as president. Ends with his loss of the Presidency to Thomas Jefferson and his return to Massachusetts.

Episode 7: Peacefield.

Shows Adams in his “retirement” to his death.

When I first heard that Paul Giamatti was to play the role of John Adams, I was unsure if he could pull it off. I mean, really? Paul Giamatti, although I think he’s a great actor, probably wouldn’t have been on my list of actors to play Adams. Well was I wrong. Giamatti does more than pull off his role; he owns it. In fact, I’d say a lot of the actors became their characters. Laura Linney was amazing in the role of Abigail. The relationship between Abigail and John is one of the great romances in history; Giamatti and Linney had great on screen chemistry to recreate the relationship. In fact, I thought the casting was perfect. George Washington(David Morse) was exactly as I had pictured him from the history books, a tall, handsome man with an overshadowing presence.

John Adams is filled with powerful speeches and great dialect. Those were some of my favorite parts of the series. They were moving and really make you appreciate America when you see what the Founding Fathers of America went through.

The characters are what make this miniseries. When you hear the names of these iconic men, it’s hard to picture them with a human light. I thought this miniseries did a great job of bringing the men in our history to life in a realistic way. I thought this brought John Adams out of the shadows of the presidencies of Washington and Jefferson, and showed us the true Adams and his accomplishments in addition to his faults.

The best part about this miniseries was the gritty realism of it all. The period of the American Revolution is often over romanticized, but this feels like it could be the real thing. Dirt, blood, sickness, unease, and bad teeth are all present. At one point you’ll see a man tarred and feathered. This is one of the most brutal things I’ve seen, and you can feel his pain and humiliation as it’s happening.

There’s also an interesting feature called “Facts Are Stubborn Things.” If you choose to, it will display facts related to the screen you’re watching at the bottom of the screen. There are some really fascinating facts that can give more insight into the scene or time period if you don’t mind taking a few seconds away from watching to read the quick tidbit.

Even if you don’t love history, I think you should see this. If they showed movies more like this in history class, more people would be interested in history. I’m not sure how it will compare to the miniseries, but I can’t wait to read the book John Adams by David McCullough that was the basis for it.

Netflix Page for John Adams.