I couldn’t help it — after watching The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story — umpteen hours over about three days — I had to read some other reviews of it. They convinced me not to waste pixels opinionizing about the real trial, which here in Los Angeles stayed big, world-changing news for what seemed like years. The miniseries is quite good, even with a couple of reservations. Yes, the producers have enough screen time to cover the Fall of the Roman Empire. But the pacing has snap — it’s neither rushed nor selective. The inside story will be big news to those of us who only saw the news hysteria and media circus aspects of the trial. And the show earns our gratitude for its good taste and judgment — it minimizes elements like Kato Kaelin.
Mainly, the miniseries quickly impresses us with its remarkable casting choices, so many of which are almost too spot-on to be believed. Actress Sarah Paulson makes such a positive impression that I know I’ll definitely be looking to see more of her work. There is one glaring exception to the star lineup, but it’s a really tough role to cast.
With unfazed self-assurance, The People v. O.J. Simpson moves through the complex web of personalities and relationships around what were called the Nicole Brown Simpson murders. It’s all here: the savagely butchered bodies, the trails of blood and bloody glove that provide so much evidence that a conviction would seem automatic, and a next-of-kin who suddenly turns into a prime suspect. Told over the phone that his wife is dead, he doesn’t even ask how it happened. A Brentwood millionaire steeped in Hollywood friends, O.J. Simpson (Cuba Gooding, Jr.) is defended by an incredible dream team. Plea-bargainer to the stars Robert Shapiro (John Travolta) puts his own reputation first, Robert Kardashian (David Schwimmer) is an emotional best friend, and the famed F. Lee Bailey (Nathan Lane) is looking for a high-profile comeback. Although the skittish Shapiro persists in believing that the best approach is to get the charge reduced to manslaughter, the experts demolish the case by fair means and foul. Attorney Barry Scheck (Rob Morrow) does wonders making the relatively new DNA evidence seem tainted. When an image of Simpson in a magazine looks too ‘black,’ the defense is able to claim that everyone is against O.J., that the prosecution is racially motivated.
The whole character of the defense changes when Shapiro brings in black attorney Johnnie Cochran (Courtney B. Vance), a powerhouse litigator and impassioned activist. Shapiro is looking to build the trial into a landmark civil rights case. He manages to re-write the story of the crime from that of a man who savagely beat his wife, to a victim of the racist L.A.P.D..
The defense is thorough and sincere, but too quick to assume an easy victory because it possesses so much hard evidence against Simpson. D.A. Gil Garcetti (Bruce Greenwood) thinks mostly of his career and lead prosecutor Marcia Clark (Sarah Paulson) is distracted by personal divorce problems. Co-prosecutor Christopher Darden (Sterling K. Brown) is well aware that he will be considered a traitor for his part in trying one of the biggest heroes in the black community. The prosecution is simply out-gunned by Simpson’s stellar defense team, which manages to cloud the issues and take immediate advantage of weaknesses. Terrible mistakes are made. Against Christopher Darden’s advice, Marcia Clark puts detective Mark Fuhrman on the witness stand, even though the man has a reputation for racist behavior.
The final key element is Judge Lance Ito (Kenneth Choi), who is excited to be trying such a high-profile showbiz case. The trial is carried live on television, a decision that makes it a virtual Reality Show. The defense team is able to make the beloved Simpson seem a victim of injustice, while Marcia Clark bemoans the fact that the real victims are all but forgotten. The ‘narrative’ is no longer about spousal abuse, but revelations of racist evil in the city’s police.
The producers restage the slow-speed Bronco pursuit, various dramatic courtroom clashes and the infamous, ‘If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit’ debacle that reveals just how badly a prosecution strategy can fail. But our interest is sustained by the virtuosity of the players. Sarah Paulson’s Marcia Clark has the most screen time, and is just riveting. Is this a major new star? The various ways the defense and the media tear Clark down would shatter anyone. John Travolta (also one of the show’s producers) makes Robert Shapiro a thoroughly craven elitist, while David Schwimmer makes Simpson buddy Rob Kardashian, another Mercedes ‘n’ Scandia West-sider, extremely sympathetic. Kardashian’s faith in his pal is shaken because he can’t ignore the overwhelming preponderance of evidence pointing to Simpson’s guilt.
The trial demonstrates how the distortions of the media can convert an entire city into a mob, a forecast of today’s political media chaos. D.A. Garcetti is fearful that Johnnie Cochran would love to ignite another round of riots. In the clash of questionably relevant ‘big issues,’ the miniseries shows how things like evidence and rational judgment crumble before Big Drama. At one point Marcia Clark demonstrates to some men in a bar how utterly impossible it would be for a conspiratorial L.A.P.D. to plant all the blood evidence against Simpson — to do so would require a time machine. Her show & tell talk should have been put before the jury, instead of so much boring science chat about how DNA works.
The spends ample screen time to examine how the jury is selected and sequestered, and why it is nonsense to believe that the jurors won’t be influenced by outside opinions. They all want to be famous too, and lie on their questionnaires and try to take notes for forbidden book deals. And finally, the notoriety of the case brings in crazy outside discoveries that blow parts of the prosecution’s case wide open. It’s not that their evidence is necessarily bad. But their inconsistent, rule-breaking Standard Operating Procedures are easily demolished by the defense’s legal masterminds. And then there are the outright dirty tricks: Cochran redecorated O.J. Simpson’s house just prior to the jury’s visit, swapping out nude photos of his girlfriend with African art and pictures of his mother. Author Dominick Dunne (Robert Morse) has been given a permanent ringside seat in the courtroom audience by Judge Ito (hmmm..), and remarks that things are happening in the case that would be rejected by any writer of airport crime fiction.
I don’t know how this movie affects other people, but having lived through the trial here in Los Angeles, it felt like a window into the inner secrets of a major life experience. We’re told that almost every major player involved wrote a book about the case, so it’s likely that not too much of what we see is fictional guesswork. (The series is based on Jeffrey Toobin’s book “The Run of His Life: The People V. O. J. Simpson.” ) Since both Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden put down their experiences in print, perhaps it’s fair to imply that they almost did have an intimate relationship. The interplay of all the characters is fairly delicate, yet respectful. And nobody — make that almost nobody — is an outright villain, so everyone retains a modicum of dignity. I had no idea that there was such a great story here. The prosecution and defense promote narratives about spousal abuse and race inequity, but it’s also about the warping influence of money and Brentwood elitism, of a law system crippled by a super-team defense that can muster more resources and expertise available to any D.A. in the country. The full show is 8.3 hours in duration, and I didn’t skip a minute of it.
Some reviewers have complained about bad acting from John Travolta; I only saw him portraying an unlikeable personality, which shows more class from Travolta than I would have expected. The one obvious casting problem is Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Gooding’s performance is all it needs to be but I was immediately disappointed that he wasn’t that much of a match for Simpson either physically or in temperament. O.J. was the biggest guy in almost any room, intimidating big. Gooding is probably pretty big but he’s not that imposing. O.J. had an outgoing personality, but it was a sparkle-for-the-cameras Hollywood kind of personality. When Gooding ‘performs’ in the courtroom, he comes off as naturally sympathetic and reasonably sincere-looking. O.J. projected ten varieties of contempt and hostility even when smiling. When he tried on the all-important glove, it was more false than anything I ever saw on Perry Mason.
When Judge Ito opened the proceedings to Television he allowed the sensational media to influence public opinion, and the defense was all too eager to shovel juicy sensation into the media mill. Because it makes Simpson out to be less cynical and deceitful as he was in real life, The People v. O.J. Simpson’s view of the trial isn’t as severe a circus as it was in real life. I guess it was not possible to present Simpson in any but neutral terms, always leaving the door of doubt open just a little. This show won’t make either side happy, but it walks the tightrope with admirable skill.
