John Adams | Eastern North Carolina Now

   
"John Adams Survives" and Will Endure for the Ages.

    John Adams on his death bed stated as his last words, “Thomas Jefferson survives.” What he could have never known is that Thomas Jefferson had passed away just a few hours earlier on his deathbed at Monticello on July 4, 1826 - on the 50 anniversary of their nation’s independence. The deep symbolic friendship between Adams and Jefferson is allegorical proof that this nation would survive the many trials that laid before it just as their friendship did survive its stormy path.

    Granted both men were founding fathers, patriots and politicians, but within their similarities there resided kernels of divisions that would haunt them both for the entirety of their political lives. Like George Washington’s beloved Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, was a federalist who hailed from Massachusetts. Thomas Jefferson was a Democratic Republican from Virginia, believing that the U.S. Constitution should be strictly interpreted. Their divisions were so deep that when Jefferson was inaugurated as President in 1801 after defeating Adams in the 1800 election, John Adams fled a muddy Washington, DC rather that suffer the indignity of witnessing his transfer of power to Jefferson. The strong irony is that while they quarreled over the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts and the nation’s neutrality in the long war between France and England, they both despised Alexander Hamilton.

    Another significant similarity was that both men outlived their beloved wives and it was the passing of Adams’s adored wife, Abigail, that initiated the first of 158 letters between these two great men who wished to simply “explain themselves to one another.” These letters are some of the most significant artifacts that not only explain these two men but the seeds of intellect that blossomed into the fruit that is the United States of America.

    The mini-series “John Adams,” adapted from popular historian David McCullough’s masterful nonfiction novel of the same title took 501 minutes to explain these founding fathers, these patriots and their altruistic motivations. Director Tom Hooper, who has made a living directing British television, took great material, and, with careful attention to detail, did not disappoint. Paul Giamatti’s masterful portrayal of John Adams manifested the symbolic maturation of man and nation simultaneously. Laura Linney, a great actor providing she has decent material, portrayed the stoic Abigail Adams and made her a sympathetic character as the loving mother and devoted wife. Together, both actors won two of the 13 Primetime Emmys won by the mini-series. Either actor’s performance was good enough to win the 2007 Oscars for the Best Actor or Actress in a Leading Role, but sadly, television mini-series do not qualify. In fact, Ms. Linney should have beaten herself in that Oscar category as she was nominated for “The Savages.”

    The overwhelming subplot of "John Adams" was the significant influence of his wife, Abigail, upon his life, his successes, and, ultimately, the birth of his nation - The United States of America.

    The remaining cast was a huge positive to the success of this 7 part mini-series produced by HBO Films. Tom Wilkerson, who won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor, as Benjamin Franklin gave his typical intuitive performance: presenting the bawdy diplomat that made Franklin perfect as the Colonies’ envoy to France. David Morse received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as George Washington (probably the best portrayal of the charismatic general and first president I‘ve ever witnessed). Stephen Dillane, who was also nominated for an Emmy for Best Supporting Actor, was excellent as the introspective and brilliant Thomas Jefferson. His role as Jefferson was pivotal as the foil to Giamatti’s Adams: breathing life into just exactly who these two important men really were.

The supreme irony is that it took nearly 200 years and David McCullough’s perceptive chronicling of John Adams’s adult life to bring positive and just notoriety to this great patriot. President Adams never actually believed that he would be remembered fondly for his service, once writing to contemporary Benjamin Rush in 1809, “Mausoleums, statues and monuments will never be erected to me. Panegyrical romances will never be written, nor flattering orations spoken, to transmit me to posterity in brilliant colors.”

    The mini-series “John Adams” uses David McCullough’s fine presentation of this little man who did big things and in that context “transmit’s” into “posterity” John Adams’s contributions as one of our founding fathers “in brilliant colors.”

    Vice President John Adams and President George Washington, played by David Moarse, who was perfectly cast, for a number of reasons, not least of which is his imposing stature.

    Historical truths presented by the examination of richly textured lives is the greatest storytelling, and possibly, our greatest contribution to art. I am thankful for this art and I am eternally grateful for the time I gave to be part of its audience of “John Adams” - 4 ½ stars.

    Released on DVD June 10, 2008. Not rated.

    This article provided courtesy of our sister site: Better Angels Now.