Is House of Cards Worth It?

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Two weeks ago, Netflix launched their first viable original series, House of Cards.  This inside the Beltway, political drama stars Kevin Spacey as Francis "Frank" Underwood, the Democratic House Majority Whip, the number three position in the US House of Representatives.  Robin Wright (Princess Bride, Moneyball) also stars as Frank's icy wife, Claire, who runs the not-for-profit Clean Water Initiative.  Kate Mara (American Horror Story, 127 Hours) plays a plucky newspaper reporter turned blogger wunderkind.  The series is based on the novel by Michael Dobbs and the BBC television series of the early 90's.  The American series is masterminded by Beau Willimon (writer of the George Clooney movie, The Ides of March), and has the great luck of having its first two episodes directed by David Fincher (Se7en, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo).

With such notable talent involved in the production, Netflix would have been foolish not to have ordered the series, even at the reported cost of over $100 million.  The subscription service with over 25 million subscribers are hoping to entice even more viewers with a top notch slate of original programming.  House of Cards isn't the first original Netflix series; there is also Lillehammer about a NY mobster hiding out in the former Olympic playground.  House of Cards leads the way this winter but is joined later this spring a horror series from Eli Roth and the a new season of Arrested Development await.

The distribution model is to release the entire season of a series in one fell swoop, encouraging binge watching, which has been the Netflix Instant staple diet since its inception.  The pitfalls here should be obvious.  You could sign up for the first free month, watch an entire season, and then drop the service before you are charged the first monthly fee.  Netflix would and should counter with a notable slate of programming that makes you want to stay tuned into the fee based service.  Still, a $100 million price tag is notable and disconcerting risk.

So, is House of Cards worth it?

Artistically, I would say so.  House of Cards is a taut, interesting political potboiler that relishes in verbal play and extraordinary performances.  The show would feel instantly at home a premiere cable or pay cable channel.  It's stronger in many ways than Political Animals or The Newsroom or Boardwalk Empire--three strong series that trade either in the same political backdrop or with similar themes of power.  Considering the first six episodes I have seen, it doesn't hold a candle to shows like Breaking Bad or Mad Men or Game of Thrones, but few shows could.

The dialogue here is delicious; it's written for actors to speak and it is the kind that actors love to say.  This is one of the ways that people will say that the series is Shakespearean; and actually that comparison holds true.  Shakespearean dialogue (and that of Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey) often puts voice to subtext, where characters say what they want and emotionally bare themselves through language.  At one point, Wright's Claire says, "We can't start this again.  When I end something, I end it."  It's not a poetic line but it cuts to the core of the character succinctly and is a wonderful morsel beautifully delivered.

The cast is strong across the board. I am particularly taken with Robin Wright who does her best to redefine the ice queen.  The show would like for me to characterize the relationship between Claire and Frank to be mature, but it is more self-serving than that, and she wields power with a blanching stare and a rowing machine.  Spacey is quite good.  A classically trained actor, he handles the asides with a dexterity that is off-putting by how inviting he is; the rapport that he immediately develops gives him far more power over the audience than you would like as you get deeper into his performance.  Kate Mara is fine in a largely blankly written role in the first six episodes.  Michael Kelly must be noted for doing yeoman's work as Underwood's Chief of Staff.  He is right in every beat and barely a presence, as he should be.  Corey Stoll, as junior Congressman Peter Russo, is quite good, too.  He makes you care strongly about a man without ever pitying him.

The series is well shot.  It helps to have David Fincher as the director of the first two episodes and to have him continue on as a series executive producer.  But Fincher is joined by any number of excellent film and television directors including Joel Schumacher and Allen Coulter.  The shots languidly set on the actors and their surroundings creating a canvas of pristine beauty which is marred by the human actions of the flawed characters.

If there is a flaw to be found in House of Cards it is that thematically it is nothing new. We have seen these same sort of stories of the quest for power for hundreds of years.  It's called Shakespearean for a reason.  That said, it is still a fun show to watch and better than most of the programming on television.  The reason we have been telling stories about power struggles for a millennium is that there are hard human truths to be showcased within.  I'm looking forward to finishing the series soon.  If this is the level of programming that Netflix will continue to produce count me in for the long haul.