THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSONÂ is the first season of the American Crime Story series and it has made quite an impact. The show gives us an insight into what happened on and off camera during the notorious trial against legendary American footballer O.J. Simpson for the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. For those of you who are somehow not familiar with what happened during this trial I would suggest you immediately stop reading this and go watch the show without knowing anything, I promise it will be more than a little worthwhile.
For those of you who are at least somewhat familiar with the infamous case, and have not already seen the show, I am about to tell you why you must. We go back over two decades to 1994-1995 to witness the absolute mess that was the O.J. trial, what one could consider a fairly open and shut case was transformed into one of the greatest farces in American history. It not only sheds light on the continued racism inherent within the LAPD, and implicitly the entire American police force, but also the sexism and ignorance of the time.
The People Vs. O.J. is tightly shot and executed to near perfection. Throughout the show you are flung into the tense, stressful and electrifying atmosphere of an incredibly tumultuous time. This is courtroom drama at its finest and the real world implications of the events that unfold are haunting.
What compliments the sharp direction is the terrific ensemble performance of the entire cast. Not only do most of the actors perfectly resemble their counterparts physically but they also nail their characterisations. Perhaps the elephant in the room regarding casting is why O.J. is played by Cuba Gooding Jr.? O.J. is four inches taller and much broader than Gooding, and Gooding doesn’t look nearly as menacing. O.J. has a deep voice that is juxtaposed by Gooding’s signature squeaky croon.
Whilst I have no qualms about this casting choice I began to understand it more as the show progressed. Having watched interviews of O.J. I began to understand that Gooding is this incredibly affable and deeply loved celebrity, and that is exactly what O.J. Simpson was to the American public at the time. To be fair to Gooding he does not look completely dissimilar to O.J. and I understand that he captured a certain part of the essence of O.J. Simpson without showing his darker side as much.
Sarah Paulson plays lead prosecutor Marcia Clark to perfection, so much so even Clark herself has lauded her performance. Kenneth Choi practically IS Judge Lance Ito, Sterling K. Brown basically IS Christopher Darden and David Schwimmer taps into the naivety and disillusionment of Robert Kardashian (a surname with a notoriety of its own, for better or worse). The show even goes out of its way a little to poke fun at the Kardashian offspring.
John Travolta plays ‘lead’ defence attorney Robert Shapiro with ease and at times is a strangely appropriate caricature of Shapiro. Courtney B. Vance’s portrayal of Johnnie Cochran is exquisite. His energetic delivery as the self appointed ringmaster of this trial is spot on. I would not be surprised if this ensemble wins every ensemble television award out there.
THE PEOPLE VS. O.J. SIMPSONÂ is an enthralling true story that is written and executed with extreme fidelity and precision. This is a story not just of one man, but also of an entire nation and its problems with race and gender. The People Vs. O.J. is another example of why we are in a golden age of television programming.
Verdict:
