As the show has done the past 3 episodes including this one, Ryan Murphy has dissected the historical Oj Simpson trial by taking moments that defined the players, witnesses, and victims to a T. Before cutting to the title screen, we are shown several brilliant sequences, Lifestyles of the rich and the famous Oj Style "Appropriately backed by C and C Factory's Everybody Dance Now" before the camera cuts to him in his cell, basically a brilliant shot of how the case has affected him internally/externally..followed by another amazing segment of Johnnie Cochran having a heart to heart with Oj to lift his spirits saying he needs to start acting like the Oj people know and love, not someone who seems like they actually could have done the murder.. before cutting to the main title Cochrane sums up Oj's dilemma as the "run of your life" and from that point on the episode keeps a fantastic pace balancing the prosecution/defense point of view while also doing a great job of introducing other known faces like Fred Goldman(who was played brilliantly), Kim Goldman, Lance Ito, Margaret York, Vincent Bugliosi and even Faye Resnick. What could have been a sloppy dramatization ended up being an impressive examination of these characters. Everything from Fred Goldman's heartbreaking conversation about Ron to Marcia, to Marcia seeking advice on who to select for jury duty on the case from Vincent Bugliosi was done convincingly honest while still being able to deliver that entertainment value you'd want. Another thing I believe the episodes keep doing brilliantly is showing the issues which propelled the case to epic proportions such as race relations, Oj's celebrity status, LAPD corruption, and how important it was for those who wanted to be apart of the case no matter what role they were given. Courtney B. Vance is absolutely on point as Johnnie Cochran and I believe he will win some awards for his electrifying performance/portrayal. I'm excited to see African American actors like Vance and Bokeem Woodbines Mike Miligan in Fargo giving a run for televisions money this year instead of just the usual nominations. Another thing that I think makes it work is the dialogue between characters comes off as believable and not just scripted, reminding the audience that this actually happened. Thanks to exceptional performances, attention to detail, and a well written script The first season of the American Crime Story anthology continues to be a pleasant surprise that makes revisiting this case exciting and informative rather than dull/routine.
Favorite scene/s: -The relationship and tension between Shapiro/Cochrane is great! Vance feeds off of Travolta's wisdom/experience to deliver every time he shows up on screen.
-Fred Goldman's scene was powerful.. the actor who played him got the vocal/face inflections down to a T.. hard to watch.
-The scenes with Bugliosi's Focus Group and Jury selection were great too.
Least Favorite Scene: -The scenes with Faye Resnick. She was always spewing the worst aspects of Nicole, taking a dump on her grave.
Favorite scene/s: -The relationship and tension between Shapiro/Cochrane is great! Vance feeds off of Travolta's wisdom/experience to deliver every time he shows up on screen.
-Fred Goldman's scene was powerful.. the actor who played him got the vocal/face inflections down to a T.. hard to watch.
-The scenes with Bugliosi's Focus Group and Jury selection were great too.
Least Favorite Scene: -The scenes with Faye Resnick. She was always spewing the worst aspects of Nicole, taking a dump on her grave.