Assassinations are usually a historical event, designed out of necessity to change the history of the world. The future legacy of each assassinated political or royal figure is likely to be tarnished by the violence that accompanied their deaths. Or worse, the secrets and possible conspiracy theories that may surround the event. This is the case of the death of President Abraham Lincoln, a tragedy that changed North American society and culture during a particularly volatile time. But even centuries later it became a public obsession.
The point that Manhunt: Hunt for the Killer, stands out from its early chapters. Apple TV+ series based on the book The Hunt: The 12-Day Pursuit of Lincoln’s Killer James L. Swanson This goes beyond the death of a prominent political figure. In fact, the entire interest of the argument is based on identifying two unusual perspectives on the violent event. First, the killer’s motive and his mental state. Secondly, how both things led to his capture and death. Which turns the plot into something more like true crime than to a historical analysis of a major event.
But beyond this original point of view, Manhunt: Hunt for the Killer He has enough skill to avoid falling into the trap of viewing a historical event from the same perspective as other similar productions. This makes it more interesting and gives more room for analysis than one might think. As proof, we leave you with three reasons why you should see this procedural as a historical drama that avoids clichés and tells a famous event from a completely new perspective.
A new dimension to a scandalous murder
The series dives deeper into one of North America’s most significant historical moments than other similar productions. In addition, the elements that make the death of Abraham Lincoln a series of alarming factors for the society of the country at that time are highlighted. This keeps him from showing its consequences again or thinking about its implications for the future. The screenplay by Monica Bielecki, Tim Brittain, Matthew Ross Fennell and Ian Oxenberg is more interested in what surrounds the killer. John Wilkes Booth (Anthony Boyle) emerges from history as a man with twisted ideals of justice. What made him believe that he was pursuing justice. The production uses the above to understand how the perpetrator was convinced that the assassination of the President vindicated the failed Confederacy.
But the plot also avoids clichés by depicting a criminal act, showing Booth as more than a man driven by obsession. Manhunt: Hunt for the Killer, explores the multiple dimensions of violence in the political and cultural sphere. This leads to a curious and almost dark prejudice. Make it clear that Lincoln’s death was the result of pressure from all areas of government rather than an accidental event. Through which he even establishes a line of events that could explain today’s aggressive vision of influence and control.
Two points of view on evil
The early chapters of the series devote time and interest to showing everything that led Booth to the fateful night of April 15, 1865. Including the intense fervor surrounding the end of the American Civil War. The character decides to join a plot that will lead to assassination following the triumph of Lincoln, played by Hamish Linklater. Thus, murder is not considered as a consequence of a general fact. Instead, it is presented in the form of a criminal’s blind pursuit of personal revenge. Thus, the approach turns what happened into an impulse of one person that had collective consequences.
The plot, set within a thorough historical section, attempts to combine the two points of view. On the one hand, how the police of that time began to search for the criminal and everything that happened after the president was wounded. On the other hand, everything surrounding the incident, including an interesting exploration of the victim’s surroundings. In a peculiar plot twist, Lincoln’s story is told through each person (politically powerful or not) who was part of his final hours. Which gives the series the opportunity to reconstruct a familiar and personal facet of a man destined to die at the hands of a heartless criminal.
Certainly, Manhunt: Hunt for the Killer It carries the weight of any event that is part of world history. The show needs to make decisions to make the death of one of the main characters less obvious and melodramatic. When this is achieved, the plot reaches its best moments. Which also gives the plot the opportunity to delve deeper into the life of Vice President Andrew Johnson (Glenn Morshower). Like Lincoln’s life, his life was also in danger due to the conspiracy. Same as Secretary of State William H. Seward (Larry Pine).
In the first episodes, the series tries to play with the idea that the cause of the tragedy was the carelessness of one person and the negligence of another. Manhunt: Hunt for the Killer avoids unpredictability when it is obvious where the plot is leading. It achieves something by exploring both the complex psychology of its characters and what was happening in North America at the time of the crime. This is done not as a chronicle of events, but as the reasons behind the subtext of a shocking event that devastated the beliefs of American society at the time.
Detailed historical section
In fact, the production uses this story to hypothesize the motives of a killer who committed a murder and then fled to a place where he would be captured almost immediately. Booth’s journey from Washington, D.C., to Richmond, Virginia, is more a series of mistakes than a compelling story. The plot dissects it and makes it clear that the murder was more of a lone crime than a visible chapter of a conspiracy. A dissertation refuting conspiracy theories involving powerful government figures such as prominent citizens,
What is appreciated about the series is the historical details of its production. Cinematographers Robert Humphreys and Trevor Forrest take care of the setting and use it as a backdrop that also tells the story of the characters. From presidential luxury to the arid frugality in which Booth lives poorly. The series strives to highlight the differences between them and how this influences the latter’s decision to kill. But production is not enough the ability to make the entire premise compact, or at least lead to a satisfactory conclusion.
Source: Hiper Textual
