House of Cards
Apr. 8th, 2013 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ivyficI watched Netflix's House of Cards cause Kevin Spacey fuck yeah, then I watched the BBC series. Short version: I found Netflix's weirdly disappointing, and I think a lot of it has to do with how the source material translates. And half the supporting cast of the Granada Sherlock Holmes is in the BBC version.
I went into this wanting something like Profit--I wanted to see a brilliant, evil person be brilliant and evil. In order for something like this to work and be enjoyable to watch, it needs to be wheels within wheels. In the American version, at least, it's...not.
The UK version goes straight Shakespearean--it's pretty clear that they're doing Macbeth. The wife is a Lady Macbeth; she exists solely to stoke his ambition. And in two of the series, Francis actually quotes Macbeth. Which means that it is more of what I was expecting--wheels within wheels.
What makes it interesting is that when it comes to the murders that Francis commits, in both versions, in the BBC version, he is genuinely disturbed and haunted by them. It seems like he chose a course of action, knowing that this was part of it, but when he has actually done it, he can't shake it off like he expected to.
In the BBC version, as well, Francis is upper class, so he has that charming English gentleman understatement going. I can see that in the American version, they made Francis a Southern gentleman to try to get the same thing, but it's really not. There's no American equivalent.
And when it comes to the actual plot, there's no American equivalent at all. The first BBC series (there are three series, each four episodes long), which is what the American (thirteen episode) series is based on, is about Francis jockeying for Prime Minister. But because of the way the Parliamentary system works, PMs can be ousted mid-term. In the US, not really. I mean, you can impeach a President, but if you were trying to do an endrun around being elected, you'd have to position yourself as VP and then assassinate the president. In the British version, you just have to get the party behind you. And the second BBC series is about Francis coming into conflict with the crown and trying to force an abdication--which is not a story that can in any way be told in the US. What I'm saying is, the plot mechanics are very, very, very British.
So in the American version, they preserved some of the features, but the story is mostly different. (There's a major plot point at the end of series one of the BBC that's been changed, too.) But for example, in both versions, Francis is the Whip, but that means something very different in England, and holds a lot more power in England. So I'm not sure it translated that well.
The main difference, though, is that Kevin Spacey's Francis doesn't seem to know what the fuck he is doing.
At the end of series one, the reporter characters all say, oh, he's had his eye on the VP position all along. Except, I just watched the series, and...I don't think he did. In order for the show to be satisfying, I would have to believe it, but what is actually happening is that Francis is flailing around and course correcting.
There are a few moments of brilliant manipulation, but most of the time, Francis is not the puppet master. He's just as venal, greedy, and short-sighted as everyone else. He's just a weasel. Which is not nearly as much fun to watch.
When it comes to the murder, in the American version, it was blindingly obvious from early in the season that Francis was going to kill this character, it was just a matter of when. So when he commits in the murder, it's not a shock to his system, the way it is in the BBC series. The drama comes from people around him finally seeing the person he's always been, which is different, and, to me, less interesting.
The highlight of the American series was Robin Wright as Francis's wife. The wife in the BBC series is mostly a non-entity. In the American, she has her own agency and her own storylines, and Wright is captivating.
What I found most interesting is the relationship between the pair. Because they are both power brokers, and they are both aware that sex is a tool of power. It's not discussed, but there's is clearly an agreement that sex outside the marriage is fine, as long as it's in pursuit of a goal. It's okay, if they are getting paid for it. Then it's no threat to their relationship.
So rather than getting a very old, tired story of adultery and betrayal, what we get instead is a story about two people who agreed to this status in their marriage, but maybe their desires are changing, and maybe they aren't being upfront about their motivations anymore. I wish Wright's second-guessing weren't connected so solidly to her menopausal regret for not having kids (cause god forbid a woman choose not to be a mom), but I'm still finding it the most interesting thing in the show.
Overall though, in the American version, I'm just not convinced enough that Francis is the master politician he thinks he is, so it's not satisfying to watch him wallow around. On the BBC version, when Francis talks about how he can take down a king, he means it, and it's awfully fun to watch him pull it off.
I went into this wanting something like Profit--I wanted to see a brilliant, evil person be brilliant and evil. In order for something like this to work and be enjoyable to watch, it needs to be wheels within wheels. In the American version, at least, it's...not.
The UK version goes straight Shakespearean--it's pretty clear that they're doing Macbeth. The wife is a Lady Macbeth; she exists solely to stoke his ambition. And in two of the series, Francis actually quotes Macbeth. Which means that it is more of what I was expecting--wheels within wheels.
What makes it interesting is that when it comes to the murders that Francis commits, in both versions, in the BBC version, he is genuinely disturbed and haunted by them. It seems like he chose a course of action, knowing that this was part of it, but when he has actually done it, he can't shake it off like he expected to.
In the BBC version, as well, Francis is upper class, so he has that charming English gentleman understatement going. I can see that in the American version, they made Francis a Southern gentleman to try to get the same thing, but it's really not. There's no American equivalent.
And when it comes to the actual plot, there's no American equivalent at all. The first BBC series (there are three series, each four episodes long), which is what the American (thirteen episode) series is based on, is about Francis jockeying for Prime Minister. But because of the way the Parliamentary system works, PMs can be ousted mid-term. In the US, not really. I mean, you can impeach a President, but if you were trying to do an endrun around being elected, you'd have to position yourself as VP and then assassinate the president. In the British version, you just have to get the party behind you. And the second BBC series is about Francis coming into conflict with the crown and trying to force an abdication--which is not a story that can in any way be told in the US. What I'm saying is, the plot mechanics are very, very, very British.
So in the American version, they preserved some of the features, but the story is mostly different. (There's a major plot point at the end of series one of the BBC that's been changed, too.) But for example, in both versions, Francis is the Whip, but that means something very different in England, and holds a lot more power in England. So I'm not sure it translated that well.
The main difference, though, is that Kevin Spacey's Francis doesn't seem to know what the fuck he is doing.
At the end of series one, the reporter characters all say, oh, he's had his eye on the VP position all along. Except, I just watched the series, and...I don't think he did. In order for the show to be satisfying, I would have to believe it, but what is actually happening is that Francis is flailing around and course correcting.
There are a few moments of brilliant manipulation, but most of the time, Francis is not the puppet master. He's just as venal, greedy, and short-sighted as everyone else. He's just a weasel. Which is not nearly as much fun to watch.
When it comes to the murder, in the American version, it was blindingly obvious from early in the season that Francis was going to kill this character, it was just a matter of when. So when he commits in the murder, it's not a shock to his system, the way it is in the BBC series. The drama comes from people around him finally seeing the person he's always been, which is different, and, to me, less interesting.
The highlight of the American series was Robin Wright as Francis's wife. The wife in the BBC series is mostly a non-entity. In the American, she has her own agency and her own storylines, and Wright is captivating.
What I found most interesting is the relationship between the pair. Because they are both power brokers, and they are both aware that sex is a tool of power. It's not discussed, but there's is clearly an agreement that sex outside the marriage is fine, as long as it's in pursuit of a goal. It's okay, if they are getting paid for it. Then it's no threat to their relationship.
So rather than getting a very old, tired story of adultery and betrayal, what we get instead is a story about two people who agreed to this status in their marriage, but maybe their desires are changing, and maybe they aren't being upfront about their motivations anymore. I wish Wright's second-guessing weren't connected so solidly to her menopausal regret for not having kids (cause god forbid a woman choose not to be a mom), but I'm still finding it the most interesting thing in the show.
Overall though, in the American version, I'm just not convinced enough that Francis is the master politician he thinks he is, so it's not satisfying to watch him wallow around. On the BBC version, when Francis talks about how he can take down a king, he means it, and it's awfully fun to watch him pull it off.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-08 08:46 pm (UTC)I also agree about this:
I wish Wright's second-guessing weren't connected so solidly to her menopausal regret for not having kids (cause god forbid a woman choose not to be a mom)
which is why I'd prefer her to be contemplating that for largely mercenary reasons.
no subject
Date: 2013-04-08 10:44 pm (UTC)I think Scandal might have that machination of power marriage that you're describing??? (Though I'm half a season behind there)
no subject
Date: 2013-04-09 08:45 pm (UTC)