Death By Lightning

Streaming on: Netflix

Episodes viewed: 4 of 4

You'd think being a US President might ensure you're remembered by history, especially if you were assassinated in public. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for President James A. Garfield, who died just 199 days into his first term, and since remains largely forgotten. Even Death By Lightning, a new Netflix show that aims to put him back him in the spotlight, frames Garfield as a man “the world forgot”, adding further insult to injury by giving his assassin equal billing. Yet Mike Makowsky’s limited series, based on a 2011 novel by Candice Millard, does so in a preposterous, hilarious way that underscores the tragedy of it all.

Tight plotting also helps maintain interest in a show that telegraphs its end from the start, surprising us instead with unexpected developments before and beyond that key turning point.

We’re first rather morbidly introduced to Guiteau as a disembodied brain, rolling around in a dusty jar. Then we jump back eight decades to meet this deranged yet well-intentioned “drain on good society”. Just like he did in Succession, Matthew Macfadyen as the assassin-in-waiting finds humour in delusion without ever losing sight of the inherent sadness that comes with it. As President Garfield, Michael Shannon plays the opposite: a good, capable man with power thrust upon him, and he summons a romanticised tone that’s unusual for such a stoic actor. The balance between their stories occasionally feels disjointed, rushing through key character development for Charles especially, although it’s fitting that Shannon’s President gets more screen time, given he's the one who should be remembered.

Supporting actors including Betty Gilpin (The Hunt), Bradley Whitford (Get Out), and Shea Whigham (Take Shelter) are all extremely watchable, but it’s Nick Offerman who steals scenes even from them as Chester A. Arthur, the buffoonish Vice President who would go on to succeed Garfield. One-liners such as, “Drinking, fighting, sausages!” speak to the absurdity of politics and this story in particular, without losing sight of its serious undercurrent. Tight plotting also helps maintain interest in a show that telegraphs its end from the start, surprising us instead with unexpected developments before and beyond that key turning point. It’s in these smaller human moments that Death By Lightning is at its most searing and electric: an acting showcase that’s just as timely as it is timeless.