The Beast In Me

Netflix trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iNHGKcP0cM

Are you watching this?

We didn't start until finishing "Death By Lightning" first, which I do not recommend, despite all the positive reviews. The dialogue is positively stilted. Just because the action took place over a hundred years ago, that does not mean people spoke in a stiff, non-colloquial way. It's only four episodes, and we continued because we wanted to know the history, but at this point, I wish I'd just read the Wikipedia page.

"Death By Lightning" is American filmmaking at its worst. Concentrating on look as opposed to dialogue and story. Yes, "Death By Lightning" looks fantastic, takes you back to the pre-automobile days, but...

Shea Whigham as Roscoe Conklin is fun to watch, but he reminds me more of comedian Kevin Pollak than any politico I've ever encountered/witnessed.

Nick Offerman is such an oaf, the role of Chester Arthur is played so broadly, that there's no way this guy could be nominated for Vice President, NO WAY!

Matthew Macfadyen as assassin Charlie Guiteau... At times delved into Forrest Gump territory. A cartoon. Sometimes he was believable, other times not.

And Michael Shannon as Garfield himself is so retiring, so downbeat, that this guy never could have been elected president, NEVER!

So when "Death By Lightning" was over I was wary of watching another American production, so I made a deal with Felice, first we'd watch an episode of "Delhi Crime," and then one of "The Beast In Me." I needed something foreign, to clean the palate, to keep me interested.

And it was fun to see the old characters in season 3 of "Delhi Crime," although the human-trafficking plot and the constant changing of locations gave me the idea they'd run out of ideas, that maybe the series had continued too long, but it was good, and we will finish it, but then we pulled up "The Beast In Me."

Hype. You can feel it for the new Vince Gilligan show on Apple, "Pluribus." With news features about Rhea Seehorn and Gilligan himself. But in the modern era a series dripped out week by week is so antique. You think you're building buzz, but in truth you're crippling it. Because if you can binge, you get really excited about a show, there's a lot to talk about and you do!

And people will be talking about "The Beast in Me."

Then again, it's hard to take the temperature of the public in today's America. It's hard to know what is going on.

I point you to this article in today's "New York Times":

"Conservative Media Picks an Epstein Story Line and Sticks to It - Right-wing outlets have focused on a single redacted name in the 23,000 pages of correspondence related to Jeffrey Epstein that were released on Wednesday."

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/business/media/epstein-trump-emails-conservative-media.html?unlocked_article_code=1.1U8.O3JY.nBEXq85oEne_&smid=url-share

I might be the only American who doesn't really care about Epstein. After all, he's dead. But a moralistic nation has to punish anybody attached to him and...

The release of the e-mails was all over the news on Wednesday. It dominated.

Unless you were on Fox. I scanned the website and had to scroll down, down, down for a reference, and the next day I couldn't find one at all, although maybe if I scrolled ad infinitum...

There are two different narratives here. And that's laughable, since it was the Republicans who were so interested in Epstein and the e-mails/information.

So what's a poor boy to do?

They used to play in a rock and roll band.

Now they scroll TikTok and watch streaming television.

And "The Beast in Me" is now number one on Netflix, America's, the world's, number one streaming service, and that means more people are exposed than...are even watching cable TV news.

So you should watch "The Beast In Me," I want to know your take.

Like "Death By Lightning" (and why that title?), "The Beast In Me" is impeccably shot. It captures the east coast feel, made me yearn for the area. The greenery, the change of seasons, the rain...

So we don't know exactly what is up with Claire Danes's character. And she's portraying anxiety/nervousness so well. These tics... Is Danes the new Meryl Streep or is she always like this?

I never saw "Homeland," but I did watch the Israeli show it was based upon, "Prisoners of War," which the "New York Times" said was the best foreign series of the decade, and I'm not sure I agree, but it was wrenching. All I really know about Claire Danes is she was in "My So-Called Life," a cult show before it was stripped by MTV. She was an atypical teenager, with a crush and...then Danes went to Yale and now she's 46 with three kids. How did that happen?

But Danes demonstrates an inner strength in "The Beast In Me," she's got her ideals straight in her mind, even if she's wavering on the periphery.

And then you've got Matthew Rhys...

Who somehow I didn't even recognize. He was softer in "The Americans," too soft for "Perry Mason," but he's so intense here...I guess I identified him more with the type than the underlying identity.

I know people like this. This is the modern paradigm. Men who have so much money they think things should always go their way...they believe they're right and entitled. And if you stand in their way...they've got tons of cash and lawyers to make you go away.

So to what degree do you cope with a bad neighbor?

I squirmed watching Rhys's dogs come into Danes's yard. People love their dogs, they can do no wrong, complain and you're a pariah.

Are you entitled to peace and quiet?

I kept thinking if I was Danes in this show, I'd move...because I didn't see Rhys ever bending.

But then Danes interacts with Rhys... She doesn't want to, she's squeamish, and he tries to steamroll her and she is flummoxed, but she stays true to herself, and he doesn't like it.

But you can never say no to a man like this.

He ultimately traps/convinces Danes to go to lunch and doesn't obey traditional rules of conversation. It's not exactly that he's browbeating her, but he's digging deeper and deeper and... Is this a connection?

I've only seen one episode. Don't tell me if you've watched more, and you probably have, this show is hard to turn off, but...

Where exactly is this going? Is this a traditional American production, a ramping up of hostilities, or something more nuanced, with unexpected plot twists.

Now what happens at the end of the first episode disappointed me, it was foreshadowed and predictable.

But Danes living alone, in a large dark house...

This show is creepy.

And despite not wanting Rhys's money, she needs money.

And...

Check this show out.


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25