From left to right starting from top: Sarah Paulson as Marcia Clark, Courtney B. Vance as John Cochran, Billy Magnussen as Kato Kaelin, John Travolta as Robert Shapiro, David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian, Cuba Gooding Jr. as O.J. Simpson.
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story is a fantastic TV show. I watched American Horror Story’s first 3 seasons, and I was pretty sure that Crime Story would be as good as Horror Story (they have the same producers). I was not disappointed fortunately. The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story is a 10-episode TV series about O.J. Simpson’s (a former football player) trial in which the Los Angeles prosecution accuses him of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in Nicole’s house. Circumstantial evidence at first look pointed to him, but the trial turned into something more than a double homicide trial and more into racism in LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department). In the end, they let him go.
At the beginning, it is slow-paced and it sometimes bores the audience. After the first few episodes, it hooks you. The thrill of chasing and trying to find the truth really pulls you in. The evidence is mostly circumstantial, and it turns out there was a racist cop who may have framed Simpson by putting some fake evidence in the crime scene, so you never know.
The acting was brilliant, especially Sara Paulson who plays Marcia Clark – the lead prosecutor. She was great in American Horror Story as well. Paulson portrayed the frustration, confusion, anger, sadness Clark felt really well. I felt those emotions radiating through the screen. Cuba Gooding Jr., who played O.J. Simpson was really good too. His actions made me really confused. Sometimes I felt like he was guilty, sometimes he was not. I guess that was the purpose after all, to make the audience questions their own judgments.
In these types of movies/TV shows, where they are portraying a reality; I really pay attention to the the actors’ appearance, clothing, places, mimic and gestures compared to the real events and people. This show was on point. Marcia Clark’s curly hair, O.J. Simpson’s funny “glove doesn’t fit” scene, Kato’s testimony, Chris Darden’s glasses, Robert Kardashian’s grey hair spot… They were all on point. This made me feel like I was watching the real trial tapes. Of course some private conversations were scripted but that didn’t affect my experience.
This TV show made me realize once again how biased people are against women in male-dominated industries. The public made fun of Marcia’s hair, clothing, motherhood, and speaking style while they didn’t say anything offensive to male lawyers in the case whether prosecution or defense unrelated to their job. It’s really frustrating when a woman is trying to do her job properly and all people care about is things other than her job. It’s demeaning, and sexist.
To sum it up, I loved The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. It’s a must-watch if you love detective work. If you ask me, I think Simpson did it because the conspiracy theory that a cop planted ALL the fake evidence because he is racist seems a bit over the top. How could he have planted the blood in car, or in Simpson’s socks? Maybe this theory is true but we will never know 🙁
