Gaslit

What has grabed me by the collar, in this series, is that I find myself wanting, wishing, needing for the plot to be different for the outcome, the fate, of Martha Mitchell. She saw the truth but her husband was too corrupt, too much into the game, too controling to let her speak. And she was too firmly imbeded into his talons to see a way out.

If what I have seen is all true . . . How sad for our nation! Politics is not for honest people. And if the Nixon administration was this psychologically sick then the situation has only become worse.

Some scenes are very brutal - both psychologically and physically.

My Review- Gaslit Streaming on Stan

My Rating 8/10 for the series 10/10 for Julia Roberts performance as Martha Mitchell

Not being American I didn't really know anything about Martha Mitchell even though many movies and television dramas concerning the Nixon era and it's spectacular conclusion as a result of The Watergate wiretapping Scandal which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon have been produced over the years.

Great movies like All the President's Men (1976) The Final Days (1989) Nixon (1995) Frost Nixon (2008) and The Post (2017) .

Why I mention movies is that this eight part Tele drama while being very interesting with a story that primarily concerns Martha wife of John Mitchell the 67th Attorney General of the United States who advocated the use of wiretapping without court orders would I think have made a wonderful feature movie.

With two brilliant performances from Julia Roberts as Martha and an unrecognisable Sean Penn as John N. Mitchell in two of their finest career defining roles .

Julia as the outspoken Martha Washington who wasn't afraid to tell the world about the deception ,lies and the scapegoating of the Nixon Administration.

The fashionable term used today to gaslight is a perfect title for this series as Martha Washington was definitely a victim of gaslighting- defined as referring to a specific type of manipulation where the manipulator is trying to get someone else (or a group of people) to question their own reality, memory or perceptions. And it's always a serious problem, according to psychologists.

Martha was certainly abused physically and mentally especially by her husband which led to substance abuse and her loss of any credibility or reputation.

The harrowing somewhat over the top episode 7 titled Year of the Rat is very powerful .It takes place as all hell breaks loose between Martha and John plus we witness the despicable Gordon Liddy going insane in his solidarity confinement.

Another fine performance in Gaslit from British actor Dan Stevens who portrays John Dean who served as White House Counsel under Nixon and was involved in The Watergate cover up. It's hard to imagine Dan Stevens as the young Matthew in series 1 of Downton Abbey.

Gaslit is a very interesting story based on the podcast Slow Burn by Leon Neyfakh.

"Gaslit" has a high-quality cast and production values, capturing the look and mood of the early '70s. But the tone is off-putting. Many scenes are played as broad farce, as if most of the key figures in the Watergate scandal were buffoons. These were corrupt people who made terrible blunders, but they were not all a bunch of clowns.

I think Sean Penn is very good as John Mitchell, but Julia Roberts could have put more a little more energy into her portrayal of Martha Mitchell, who was very flamboyant, colorful and opinionated. Dan Stevens as John Dean is a weak spot. He makes Dean seem very silly and clueless, and looks too hipster. These were Republicans! "Gaslit" explores an interesting episode in American political history, and includes many key facts, but the tone makes it seem a bit too much like a caricature.

If they made a series like this on the Trump administration they'd call it fake news and half the Americans wouldn't believe it. Thoroughly enjoyable and the cast was first rate.

The ads got me and I subscribed to Starz just to see this. How could a cast like this be bad? Well, it can't. I am really happy to say it's off to a great start. The cast is awesome and Martha Mitchell deserved better than she got. I love the photography and the gratuitous nudity. I also like the TV shots. Go Martha. Good luck. Hope it's a big success. This cast can't fail. So far it has a 5.1 rating. Don't believe it. If you don't like this, you just don't get it.