‘The Comey Rule: Night Two’ Review: Brendan Gleeson nails Trump performance in otherwise mediocre show
Spoilers for ‘The Comey Rule: Night Two’
Like part one of the Showtime limited series based on the book 'A Higher Loyalty' by former FBI director James Comey, ‘Night Two’ of ‘The Comey Rule’ is not the most compelling watch. But the second part does have its merits -- a lot of them.
The episode begins with the victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 U.S. elections. And of course, it is in the context of the fired FBI chief. Comey’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails can be counted as an important reason why the Democrat nominee did not win. Series creator Billy Ray takes the public sentiments about the titular character and sums it up with singer Jonathan Mann crooning his country tune, “F*** you, James Comey, I have nothing else to say…”
So, now Comey, played by Jeff Daniels, becomes “the man who got Donald Trump elected”. And that alone would be an obstacle course. But Comey’s life, as one can surmise, was facing a bigger nemesis: Trump himself. And this is where ‘Night Two’ does a way better job than ‘Night One’.
Brendan Gleeson is a world-renowned thespian who has played antagonistic roles to perfection. But Gleeson brings something eerie and chilling to his portrayal of Trump. For starters, the show’s makeup team deserves applause for how well it transformed Gleeson into one of the United States' most controversial presidents. Which makes up, and then some for the odd casting of Kingsley Ben-Adir as Barack Obama.
But looks alone cannot take the credit for this role. Gleeson has managed to adapt the tiniest of Trump mannerisms and body language into his performance, making it -- very often -- easy to forget that this is a dramatization of Trump and not the real deal. The accent, the tone, the voice, the inhalations, the demeanor, Gleeson’s attempt to recreate Trump is a work of art. And that alone makes ‘Night Two’ much more disturbing. Especially in light of how Comey saw the whole thing happen.
We see Trump trying to get through to Comey. And when that fails, we see him blatantly lying about their interactions and then unleashing his vendetta upon the man by firing him and humiliating him. We see Trump behaving exactly as Trump does. Self-obsessed, egotistical, and lacking coherence of thought. But where Gleeson brings a kind of boost to the second part, the show’s writing and visible aim bring the energy down.
‘The Comey Rule’, by virtue of being based on Comey’s book, would obviously show the former FBI chief in a positive light. Yes, we see Comey being criticized. But that criticism always seems to come from either the Trump administration or from a nebulous mass of “public”. It’s never from someone important to the story -- save Rod Rosenstein (Scoot McNairy). And that too, occasionally.
By the end of the one-hour-fifty-two-minute run of ‘Night Two’, the show goes a little too overboard in trying to portray Comey as a saint and the FBI as a righteous and unimpeachable organization. This is not to suggest that Comey is not the good man the show makes him out to be. But after a point, it gets tiring.
But, the show’s intentions are a little more than just that. And the last scene proves that. The show ends with a shot of the United States Capitol and a message that says the U.S. intelligence community concluded that Russians did indeed interfere with the 2016 polls and is continuing to do so for the 2020 poll. The message adds: “The president is yet to acknowledge this finding.”
And that’s where the show’s timing feels curious. The 2020 General Election will be held on November 3, 2020. With just one month to this divisive election, the show raising these key questions will definitely have some kind of impact. What impact the show’s creators want to have is presumable. But will it be successful? ‘The Comey Rule’ makes for a good case on why the Trump administration has to be questioned on many grounds. But does it redeem Comey in the eyes of the hundreds of thousands who blamed him for Trump’s rise to power? That somehow feels doubtful.
‘The Comey Rule’ is available for viewing on Showtime.