As a "90s kid", the affair between then-President Bill Clinton and White House intern Monica Lewinsky was the first major political event I remember being cognizant of (no wonder my generation is a bit jaded when it comes to politics!). This "Impeachment" season of American Crime Story does a remarkable--if perhaps overly long--job of examining that event from a different lens.
Primarily, "Impeachment" focuses on Lewinsky (Beanie Feldstein) and her complicated relationship with co-worker turned traitor Linda Tripp (Sarah Paulson), between which the details of Monica's relationship with the Commander in Chief (Clive Owen) comes to light. Simultaneously, the effects of such liaisons produce ripple effects seen in such figures as Paula Jones (Annaleigh Ashford) & Hillary Clinton (Edie Falco), as well as catches the eye of individuals like Judge Kenneth Starr (Dan Bakkedahl), Matt Drudge (Billy Eichner), & Anne Coulter (Cobie Smoulders).
The "hook" of Impeachment is that it tells the story of the entire scandal from a very Lewinsky-centric--or female-centric, in general--point of view (Lewinsky herself being part of the production). This was obviously a far cry very the late-90s media coverage, in which Monica became the ultimate pariah almost immediately. I very much enjoyed this approach, as not only did it prevent Impeachment from being just a straight-ahead even biopic, but it also never felt preachy or over-bearing. More of a course-correction, of sorts, towards the nexus of reality.
As with anything produced by Ryan Murphy, mileage may vary in terms of tone interpretation and enjoyment. He utilizes a, shall we say, unique & over-the-top style that may not be for everyone. Fortunately, Impeachment isn't even close to his "wackiest stuff" because of how constrained it is by an almost relentless pursuit of exact dialogues and period-specific details.
Ironically, that slavish devotion also led to one of my chief complaints about Impeachment, that being its 10 episodes feeling too long for what is essentially a mini-series event. Seven or eight episodes would have been perfect here. Ten? Well, there were times I found myself losing the overall Lewinsky/Tripp thread as side-tangents were not only explored, but done so in great detail.
Perhaps the hallmark of this entire season, however, was the acting. If Paulson doesn't win some serious hardware for her Tripp portrayal, it will be a crying shame. Truly one of the most complete on-screen transformations I've ever seen. Feldstein is also more-than-solid as the incredibly naive Lewinsky, while Owen's Clinton is somewhat amazingly as much of a caricature as it is spot-on. As such, the "soft spots" in Impeachment never feel like too much of an albatross because the performances are so mesmerizing.
Overall, Impeachment is equal parts nostalgic (for a certain formative-at-the-time age group), informative (for the social commentary), and entertaining (for the thespian work). I deduct one star for some of the Murphy shenanigans and other for being 2-3 episodes long in the tooth, but other than that I looked forward to each episode and it immediately went to the top of my weekly watchlist.
