Creator Robbie Pickering was right when he said in an interview that Gaslit could very easily have been an overcorrection of the story. At a time when television producers are tripping over themselves to present feminist readings of past events, Gaslit projects his progressiveness in a tongue-in-cheek manner that doesn’t dilute the dark undertones of his fact-based story.
But perhaps the most surprising thing about the show (about the Watergate scandal and based on a Slate podcast called Slow Burn) is that it doesn’t take the usual conspiracy thriller route, unlike the scores of older films and series about the greatest political crime in recent history. Contrary to expectations, Gaslit plays like a farce; a dark satire of our times that would make Armando Ianucci and Kundan Shah proud. “You were running a criminal operation on behalf of the President and someone gave you an office in the White House?” one character rages at the other, eliciting the show’s biggest laugh.
Although an ensemble piece, Gaslit has a special affinity with the character Martha Mitchell. Played by Julia Roberts in a performance that will likely net her some very important awards next year, Mitchell is among the few second-rate characters involved in the scandal but for some reason has been relegated to the lore appendices. Which is ironic given how desperate Mitchell wanted to be on the news.
Legendary gossip, the middle-aged Southern belle was married to John Mitchell, President Richard Nixon’s former Attorney General. He’s played on the show by an unrecognizable Sean Penn, which when I think about it, is spot on how i like my sean penn these days. Nixon, in his famous interview with David Frost a few years after his resignation from the presidency, said that without Martha Mitchell, Watergate would not have happened. What he probably meant was that without her, he wouldn’t have gotten caught.
After all, she was among the first public figures to call for Nixon’s resignation, but was unceremoniously gagged by a gang of powerful men around her, who accused her of being a talker (which she was) and mentally unstable (controversial). Toward the end of her life — destitute and alone, dismantled by the same press that built her — she began to question her reality, which presumably gave the series its title. Roberts’ performance underscores Martha’s individualism and dignity, even as she realizes she is losing both.
It is always interesting to observe what perspective a historical drama takes. The trick is not to come across as smug. And that’s maybe what Gaslit is about, shall we say, the works of Adam McKay. Watch the series finale, a terrific episode titled The Year of the Rat. It’s a master class in balancing tone, moving so seamlessly from domestic drama to tragic romance to absurdist comedy, relying on metaphor and symbolism rather than dull things like facts. Everyone works at their best in this episode; not just Roberts and Penn getting a terrific confrontation scene as their relationship crumbles under pressure, but also the show’s standout performer, Shea Whigham.
A character actor known for playing intense oddballs, it seems like Whigham spent his career working towards this role. In Gaslit, he plays Gordon Liddy, a radical FBI agent who was responsible for the team of thieves that broke into the Watergate complex. In many ways, Liddy represents the insane alt-right that has taken over not only American politics but our own as well. He shows a blind, almost irrational belief in his leader; someone who has made himself his servant/soldier without realizing that he is actually a scapegoat. The show often mocks Liddy, as it should, but it doesn’t gloss over the fearless, militant, and very, very scary side of his personality. It’s particularly satisfying that the show boldly spends much of this grand finale making him squirm in front of a tiny foe, systematically dismantling his fake bravado before his very eyes.
Liddy was among the many free riders and opportunists who joined Nixon’s cause in hopes it would help them. But like virtually every single one of them even remotely connected to Watergate, he became the scapegoat. They contain a poignant lesson about toadiy and how irrelevant it is in the long run. If the tide turns, the show warns no one will be safe. Just look at John Dean, a senior White House aide who was among the first to oppose Nixon. Even he got a prison sentence. The wonderful Dan Stevens plays him on the show as a used car salesman.
Most of the Republican Party members we see on the show—all men, by the way—are portrayed as clumsy fools. That tells you exactly what Pickering and series director Matt Ross think about the state of affairs right now. However, there’s a (very slight) feeling that the show has missed the boat. Gaslit, the podcast, was a real-time response to the Trump presidency; The show essentially closes the stable door. And while it might seem a bit confusing for American audiences to revisit the darkest timeline, in India we can easily imprint our own realities on the series.
gas lit
Creator – Robbie Pickering
director – MattRoss
Pour – Julia Roberts, Sean Penn, Dan Stevens, Betty Gilpin, Shea Whigham
valuation – 4/5