Idrees Ahmad | idreesahmad.bsky.social Profile picture
Associate Editor—@newlinesmag; Contributing Editor—@lareviewofbooks; Bylines—@guardian @nybooks @foreignpolicy @WashingtonPost @TheTLS; Author—Dark Instruments

Sep 29, 2020, 5 tweets

A short thread in praise of @Showtime's "The Comey Rule". As a political sociologist and a film geek, I watched with a critical eye, but I think @BillyRay5229 has created an outstanding political drama.

I have read the memoirs that have come out of the Trump administration. I have read Comey, McCabe, Bolton, the Mueller report, and also investigative works including the two Woodward books, the two Michael Wolff books, Greg Miller, Corn and Isikoff, and Leonig and Rucker.

When you are that immersed in a political period, it generally sets you up for disappointment when it comes to fictional portraits. Everyone film or drama about the Bush administration was underwhelming or awful.

But this is different. Clearly a lot of research has gone into this for maximum accuracy. There is attention to detail, yet, because of deft directing, it still manages to be a daramatic success, keeping the viewer engaged, painting portraits with economy.

Besides the attention to detail, the shows greatest asset however is the uncanny performances by Brendan Gleeson as Trump and Jeff Daniels as Comey. Both are outstanding actors who are given the space to shine.

In brief: it's a masterclass in political drama.

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