Verdict:
Based on a book by Michael Dobbs and a British show of the same name, House of Cards tells a story of an ambitious and maleficent US congressman Francis Underwood, played by Kevin Spacey, who schemes his way to more and more power, for the sake of power.
The British version, as the stereotype goes, appears to be smarter but less exciting. Ian Richardson’s character in the British show has a certain charm and style that supersedes that of Kevin Spacey. But it is undisputed that Kevin Spacy completely takes over whatever scene he is in. His performance can be hypnotizingly delicious and several hours of it are more than welcome. He is best at playing villains and House of Cards puts a villain in the main role. One of the main gimmicks of the show is that Francis breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the viewer, commenting on various events, and these monologues are some of the best moments in the show. In short, this was a perfect casting.
There is one issue with his acting. Although Spacey is great in his role, there is a constant recurrence of a particular type of performance that is rather annoying. When Francis Underwood talks to someone whom he tries to manipulate, he talks in a special voice, in a sort of sarcastic tone. The makers of the show could not have been unaware of this, so it is surely done on purpose, presumably to inform the viewer when manipulation is happening, but why? This type of acting would be more at home in a comedy, but it is jarring in serious show about politics. Considering the kind of viewers who would watch it, why does the show feel the need to dumb down the interaction?
At the same time, the show does not explain the workings of the political system, which is something that could’ve been useful, especially for foreign audiences.
The scheming of Francis Underwood is delightful to watch, as he is driven by arrogance, hatred and a greed for power. At the same time, His persona is treated realistically. Frank is not a cartoonish villain but a person who sees as weakness the moral barriers that prevent most people from stooping down to using overly depraved methods in achieving their goals, and so he thinks himself to be stronger and smarter. But he too can exhibit honourable emotions, even if they are still ultimately rooted in his arrogance.
Though the Underwoods are destroying most people around them in cold blood, they still form emotional attachments to certain people, but only as long as those people are loyal and subordinate to them.
It is nice to see a largely consistent and complex character on TV who isn’t an empty page to write whatever suits the episode. Well…at least until the later seasons, when the show started to unravel.
There is some inconsistency though. Francis is presented as a mastermind, but twice during the show he is personally involved in murder. This seems counter to the ruthless intelligence that is attributed to him and really interrupts the flow of the show. Murder is stupid. It is usually hard to execute well and is extremely risky, especially for a character in Frank’s position for whom a mere implication in a murder case would mean the end of his political career. An impulsive murder committed out of absolute necessity may be understandable but that is not how House of Cards plays it out.
And the murders are not the only situations in which the show “jumps the shark”. There are multiple moments where it goes too far for the sake of adding spice to politics.
The story starts going down towards the middle part of the 2nd season as it becomes considerably more dry and contrived. Lots of talking makes it seem like something complicated and manipulative is going on when in fact it does not. Motivations are mysterious and many conversations start to carry the conspiracy tone of the X-files series.
All the while most characters act as clueless pawns in Frank’s game. If they were going to make serious national and international politics part of the show they should have done it well. People who say that real politics are boring are wrong. Look at CNN, look at BBC – there is so much stuff going on. Jon Stuart made a career covering the comedic side of politics alone.
However, even if the show occasionally feels forced or dry, Kevin pulls it through, and if I am honest, I do not care what that man talks about as long as he does it on my screen.
So in conclusion, Kevin Spacey.