Land of the Lost.
The Big Sick's Zoe Kazan and Homeland's Morgan Spector, as Bess and Herman Levin, are the heads of a household that seems to be on the uptick. Herman sees a big promotion in his future, one that could lead them all into a single-family home in a more affluent neighborhood, while Bess, whose childhood has taught her about petty prejudices, worries about being the only Jewish family in a WASP township. Winona Ryder plays Bess' sister, Evelyn, who's currently carrying on an affair with a married man, while hothead cousin Alvin (Anthony Boyle) is wrapped up in local conflicts with the German community.Based on Philip Roth's bludgeoning book, for which he used his own childhood in Newark as a jumping-off point, The Plot Against America is very much a slow-burn. The first episode doesn't do much to hook you, as much as it simply lays the groundwork for the doom and gloom to come. It sets up the family dynamic in a way that lets you peek inside a world that's about to be turned upside down. This miniseries isn't available to binge so you really do have to stick with the series for it to devilishly blossom into - well - awfulness... If that suits you in this day and age.
The Levins' young son, Phillip (Azhy Robertson), acts as the author's surrogate, watching his world slowly unravel in small ways. Hearing the anger in his father's voice when discussing Lindbergh; listening to his mother try to calm his dad, for fear of frightening a boy who's already anxious. Meanwhile, Phillip's brother, Sandy (Caleb Malis), shows slight signs of being a fascist sympathizer. The story unspools at an extremely methodical pace and, barring time jumps, it could take a while to fully find itself.
It's a lot to ask people, these days, to stick with a great-but-extremely weighty series that drops its episodes weekly, but if you're already checking this series out because of the creators/writers -- David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire) -- then you're probably aware what kind of pace to expect and what your particular burden is as a viewer. You're going to be let into a world that's not going to wholly explain itself to you.
The Plot Against America is a great and hefty watch, though I'd be lying if I wasn't also thinking "Oh, not now, sure-to-be-acclaimed show about America's collapse into fascism!" It's a well-crafted series with shrewd messaging and strong performances that also possibly couldn't have come at a more inopportune time. David Simon and Ed Burns are out to show how thin the divide is between the country we know and the nightmare many of us are afraid we'll become. It's riveting and ruthless.
The Wire's David Simon and Ed Burns unleash a devastating alternate history miniseries about America caving to fascism.
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