'Death by Lightning' offers a surprising story about an assassinated president gone too soon

“Death By Lightning,” premiering Thursday connected Netflix, introduces itself arsenic “a communicative astir 2 men the satellite forgot,” and portion it is undoubtedly existent that fewer successful 2025 volition admit the sanction Charles Guiteau, galore volition cognize James A. Garfield, fixed that helium was 1 of lone 4 assassinated American presidents. There are little good remembered presidents, for definite — does the sanction John Tyler ringing a bell? — and assassins amended known than Guiteau, but if you’re going to marque a docudrama, it does assistance to take a communicative that mightiness beryllium much astonishing to viewers and comes with a execution built in. It is also, I would conjecture intentionally, a communicative made for our times, with its themes of civilian rights, income inequality, cronyism and corruption.

Indeed, astir everything astir the Garfield communicative is melodramatic — a tragedy, not simply for the family, but for the nation. For the consciousness 1 gets from “Death by Lightning” and from the humanities grounds it reasonably represents, is that Garfield, killed aft lone 200 days successful office, mightiness person made a precise bully main executive. (The stated root for the bid is Candice Millard’s 2011 publication “Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President”; Millard is besides a dependable successful the much concisely titled, illuminating “American Experience” documentary “Murder of a President.”)

That the longtime Ohio congressman did not question but was drafted for the occupation — a compromise chosen, against his protests, connected the 36th ballot astatine the 1880 Republican National Convention, wherever he’d fixed a stirring code to nominate a chap Ohioan, Treasury Secretary John Sherman — made him, 1 mightiness say, particularly qualified for the job; dissimilar immoderate politicians 1 mightiness name, helium was self-effacing and humble and not retired for idiosyncratic gain. But helium saw, finally, that helium had a accidental to “fix each the things that terrify maine astir this republic,” astir particularly the ongoing oppression of Black citizens, a large taxable of his inauguration code (with remarks transferred present to a run code delivered to a assemblage of 50,000 from a balcony overlooking New York’s Madison Square Park). “I would alternatively beryllium with you and defeated than against you and victorious,” helium tells a radical of Black veterans gathered connected his beforehand porch, from which helium conducted his campaign. (Some 20,000 radical were said to person visited determination during its course.)

Political machinations and complications aside, the narrative, which stretches 2 years crossed 4 episodes, is truly reasonably simple, adjacent schematic, cutting backmost and distant betwixt Garfield (Michael Shannon, betwixt tours covering aboriginal R.E.M. albums) and Guiteau (Matthew Macfadyen), a drifter with delusions of grandeur, arsenic they attack their historically sealed day with destiny. Garfield is goodness personified; we conscionable him connected his farm, cooking meal for the family, planing wood to marque a picnic table. (A array we volition conscionable again.) Guiteau goes from 1 failed task to another, surviving it up connected wealth stolen from his sister, moving retired connected edifice checks and rooming location bills, telling lies astir himself helium mightiness good person thought were true, until helium decides that authorities is the spot to marque his mark. Under the content that helium was liable for Garfield’s election, helium believed the caller president owed him a occupation — ambassador to France would beryllium bully — and erstwhile nary was coming, turned sour. A connection from God, and the content that helium would prevention the republic, acceptable him connected a way to murder.

Matthew Macfadyen plays Garfield’s assassin, Charles Guiteau, successful the miniseries.

(Larry Horricks / Netflix)

The bid mostly belongs to them — some actors are terrific, Shannon imbuing Garfield with a gravity leavened with kindness and humor, Macfadyen’s Guiteau, optimistically dedicated to his delusions yet ever astir to pop. But it’s a loaded cast. The ever-invaluable Betty Gilpin, successful her 4th large bid this twelvemonth aft “American Primeval,” “The Terminal List: Dark Wolf” and “Hal & Harper,” plays Garfield’s wife, Crete, afloat up connected the governmental country and escaped with her opinions. Shea Whigham is New York legislator and powerfulness broker Roscoe Conkling, Garfield’s motivation opposite, and the series’ villain, if you excuse Guiteau arsenic mentally ill. (The assemblage didn’t.). As omniscient Maine Sen. James Blaine, Bradley Whitford exudes a convincing, quiescent authority, honed implicit those years moving successful the unreal White House connected “The West Wing.” All the men person been whiskered to lucifer their humanities models.

Where astir of them, adjacent Guiteau, stay accordant from opening to end, it’s Nick Offerman’s Chester A. Arthur who goes connected a journey. Conkling’s close hand, successful complaint of the New York Customs House — which generated a 3rd of the country’s revenues done import fees — he’s offered the presumption of vice president to appease Conkling, New York being cardinal to winning the election. Arthur begins arsenic a thuggish, cigar-smoking, sausage-eating, drunken clown, until he’s forced, by events, and the anticipation of inheriting the presidency, to reckon with himself.

When First Lady Crete Garfield wonders whether determination should beryllium a small other information (or, really, immoderate information astatine all) astir her husband, helium responds, “Assassination tin nary much beryllium guarded against than decease by lightning — it’s champion not to interest excessively overmuch astir either one,” giving the bid its rubric and clearing up immoderate disorder you whitethorn person had astir its meaning. Indeed, Guiteau moves successful and retired of what contiguous would beryllium good guarded rooms with astonishing ease, managing encounters (some surely invented) with Crete, Blaine, a drunken Arthur and Garfield, whom helium implores, “Tell maine however I tin beryllium great, too.”

Created by Mike Makowsky, it isn’t escaped from theatrical effects, melodramatic overreach oregon evident statements, but arsenic play pieces go, it’s unusually persuasive, successful large and small ways. Only occasionally does 1 consciousness taken retired of a 19th period world into a 21st period tv series. The effects fund has been spent wherever it matters, with immoderate elaborate evocations of precocious 19th period Chicago and Washington that don’t shriek CGI. The archetypal episode, which recreates the 1880 convention, held astatine the Interstate Exposition Building successful Chicago, aligns perfectly with engravings of the country and brings it to life, supporting the wheeling and dealing and speechifying successful a mode that 1 imagines is adjacent to being there.

Because we cognize what’s coming, the bid tin beryllium emotionally taxing, particularly arsenic a wounded Garfield lingers done overmuch of the last episode, portion being mistreated by his doctor, Willard Bliss (Zeljko Ivanek), who ignores the proposal of the younger, amended informed Dr. Charles Purvis (Shaun Parkes), the archetypal Black doc to be to a sitting president; many, including Millard, judge it was the doc who killed him done a deficiency of sanitary precautions, and that Garfield mightiness person recovered if he’d conscionable been near alone, an thought the bid supports.

But you can’t alteration history, arsenic overmuch arsenic “Death By Lightning” makes you privation you could.