‘Gaslit’ review: Julia Roberts humanizes Watergate in new Starz series

Twinscities ^ | 04/30/2022 | Michael Phillips

[ChicagoConservative27]

Behind every great political scandal, there are players whose stories get shoved to the side by the first, second and even third drafts of history.

“Gaslit,” overpacked but compelling, shoves back — though not quite hard enough. The actors traverse a wide variety of styles, from sardonic satire to raw sincerity. While that stylistic range can feel indecisive in some episodes, it’s an awfully good cast.

With a deft balance of social cunning and justifiable paranoia, Julia Roberts takes the lead as “mouth of the south” Martha Mitchell. Her public statements regarding Richard Nixon’s ineptly corrupt administration helped bring down a presidential second-term hopeful and various minions intent on smearing the opposition party. Across the eight-part Starz series (seven episodes were available for preview), Roberts occasionally has to fight for screen time in what is an ensemble piece, not a star vehicle. Sean Penn plays her husband, Nixon crony and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell, encased in a misjudged load of prosthetics. (More on that shortly.)

[simpson96]

I can’t wait to not watch.

[CrazyCatChick]

Can’t stand Julia Roberts.

[21twelve]

He did accept a gift that he tried to hide, and pass off to his daughter when he got caught.

Even after getting caught he showed no remorse.
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.
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His “Checkers” speech. ;)

[Paal Gulli]

They certainly went out of their way to make caricatures of G. Gordon Liddy and the other “burglars.”

I can fair guarantee you they would never have had the stones to broadcast something like this while “the G-Man” was still living because he’d have sued them until their eyes bled.