Kevin Spacey Was Made For This Part
House of Cards is quite possibly the finest political TV show I’ve had the pleasure of watching, especially as one of the greatest actors to grace the silver screen stars, namely Kevin Spacey as Francis Underwood. I’ve been a fan of his since seeing The Usual Suspects but his best role, for me, has to be in American Beauty. He played that part astonishingly well. Every actor has a particular role in a certain movie they are remembered for. Kevin Spacey as Majority Whip Underwood is such a role, and playing off him, and also in a memorable role was Robin Wright as Clare. His wife and constant supporter in all things political, and sometimes, on certain matters that a wife really shouldn’t be advising a husband on. It is for these reasons, and of course the writing, that this show is such a success and will no doubt be talked about for years to come.
We watch as Francis achieves great things for himself and other people, but the cost was sometimes very high, and I don’t mean money. He also remained dignified in his own way, sometimes a cruel way, but always with purpose. I loved each episode as his schemes came to fruition (or not), but there were always some very interesting bumps along the way. Clare played more than a little political throat slitting of her own and was more than able to fight dirty with the very best of them. Her character was very strong indeed but Ms Wright played it to perfection, with just the right amount of sadness, speaking of hidden yearnings, yet always with grace. Sadly we only ever touch on some of Clare’s background, like her old flame Adam Galloway, played by Ben Daniels.
Kate Mara was also very good as the reporter who ends up in bed with the eventual enemy, all for the sake of a story. This show is filled with great performances but one that really stood out was by Corey Stoll, as he played drug addicted womanising Representative Peter Russo. His part as Russo was possibly one of the most interesting because he covered so many emotions and created such a powerful character that it looks to have gained him more work, as Stoll looks to be a busy guy now. This is a show that I would go right out of my way for, and if Netflix do another like this or the amazing Hemlock Grove, I’ll be first in line, rather, first “online” to see it. House of Cards really is that good.
Highly Recommended
Grade: A+
