HBO's 'John Adams': Reviewing Part Three – 'Don't Tread on Me'

Part three stumbles a little...

By: Brad Brevet
Published: Sunday, March 23rd 2008 at 4:23 AM

HBO's "John Adams" continues and part three begins to show a little wear, making me think this may not have the award power I originally thought it had, at least not in terms of filmmaking. The hiccups come as a result of poor editing and directing as handheld camerawork seems to be more of a desire than a necessity and the beginning of this one jumps from Adams still in Pennsylvania, which is where episode two left off, to where he is suddenly back home with his wife, Abigail (Linney), and she is saying how worried she was for him once she learned of the Brits' occupation. Uh, sounds like something good happened and we missed it. It's a bit unfortunate since it gives this mini-series more of an episodic feel rather than a complete feel as I would have liked.

Despite the director's choices in camerawork, there is a lot to love about this episode, primarily Tom Wilkinson's performance as Ben Franklin as quite the debaucher in France. This episode certainly seals Wilkinson's end-of-year nomination; it's a bit too early to give him the gold though.

Action on the high seas and political intrigue gives this episode its guts and once Adams is in France to gain French monetary and military support it really hits its stride. Franklin's interest in sex and the finer things France has to offer have gained him favor amongst the locals, while Adams' desire to get things done eventually becomes his undoing. What makes the butting of styles interesting is that both Franklin and Adams have understandable points of views. Adams being the "get down to business" kind of persona while Franklin's style is more of getting them to like you all while taking advantage where you can. Franklin's advice to Adams speaks volumes when he says, "You can accomplish much by appearing to accomplish little." It's a selfish way to go about business, but it isn't an entirely disagreeable one.

Adams soon explores other options taking him to Holland looking for a source of money while we get glimpses of life back home as Abigail's life becomes to grow increasingly lonely with the absence of John while she tends to the homestead, but it gives the filmmakers reason to display how strong she is. Laura Linney is probably going to get some end-of-year attention due to her performance, but a lot of it is very heavy handed and lends to overacting. Linney is a great actress, but the role ends up being very cliché at times, especially as we move into part four.

Part three would be the best of the bunch had it not been for the shoddy jump in time at the beginning and the overbearing beginning of the longing Abigail begins to feel for John. Luckily Wilkinson as Franklin elevates this part making the majority of it very enjoyable once you get beyond the slow beginning.

With a running time of 66 minutes, the third part of "John Adams" airs Sunday, March 23. Get the full synopsis for this episode here.

You can read my reviews of Part One and Two here (1) and here (2).