Death by Lightning, a new four-part miniseries on Netflix, is a period piece that plays like a 19th-century version of The West Wing. It’s full of political intrigue and unexpected betrayals — focusing on an elected representative whose desire is to do right and do good, no matter how many obstacles are in the way.
James Garfield, played by the always intense Michael Shannon, brings his intensity to Garfield’s public oratory. But at home, his Garfield is a gentle, loving husband, father and farmer — an unlikely person to rise to the top in the snake pit of national government in the 1880s.
Equally unlikely to achieve any level of success is Charles Guiteau, another character from humble beginnings. Guiteau, though, is a lot less noble than Garfield, and a lot less humble. In fact, he may be delusional about his own self-worth, and he’s not above stealing, lying, forging or other crimes to further his ambitions.
In the Stephen Sondheim musical Assassins, Guiteau was portrayed with the enthusiastic optimism of a child, and that’s how he’s played here by Matthew Macfadyen, who played Tom on Succession. It’s a wholly committed, completely empathic portrayal. You can feel Guiteau’s emotions — his highs and his lows — instantly and deeply, often in the same scene.
When we meet Guiteau for the first time, he’s facing a panel and defending his behavior in 1880 after being incarcerated in the New York jail called The Tombs. Garfield, meanwhile, is a Congressman who represents Ohio, but spends most of his time back home.
