We have already seen so many depictions of Abraham Lincoln in film and TV \u2013 he is, after all, one of the most famous US presidents, and perhaps even one of the most well-known figures, from throughout history.<\/p>\n
Everyone already knows his story, and everyone knows how he died.<\/p>\n
Lincoln\u2019s assassination was a turning point in history, one which has been assessed and re-assessed time and again for the impact it had on the direction of the US, and indeed the world.<\/p>\n
However, despite everything there is to say seemingly having already been said, the assassination is exactly where the creators of Manhunt<\/a> have found nuggets of lesser-known history, and mine them in the new seven part series for Apple TV+<\/a>.<\/p>\n In telling Lincoln\u2019s story after it ended, this is really the story of the characters surrounding him, figures who are either lesser known for simply less ubiquitous in the public consciousness \u2013 from assassin John Wilkes Booth himself and his co-conspirators to secretary of war Edwin Stanton and his team working to hunt down the criminals.<\/p>\n Indeed, Manhunt starts with Booth planning and carrying out Lincoln\u2019s assassination, and tracks his journey to escape the clutches of the authorities from there.<\/p>\n It was a 12-day search, headed up here by Stanton, seen as not just Lincoln\u2019s secretary of war but a trusted confidante and friend. The series then deals with the fallout following the president\u2019s death and Stanton\u2019s attempts to get justice.<\/p>\n The cast is headed up by The Crown<\/a> and Game of Thrones<\/a> star Tobias Menzies, while Booth is played by Masters of the Air<\/a> standout Anthony Boyle.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Hamish Linklater takes on the unenviable task of embodying Lincoln, and Lovie Simone, Matt Walsh and Patton Oswalt all play key supporting roles.<\/p>\n In many ways, this is a straight historical series, and one which won\u2019t be accessible or engaging for all viewers. For all the marketing from Apple TV+ calling this a cat-and-mouse thriller, it is largely a more methodical examination of both the manhunt itself and the time period. Viewers shouldn\u2019t expect high-octane thrills or gripping dramatic twists.<\/p>\n However, if you do have an interest in the history, then this show does what all great dramas do, and helps to breathe life into it.<\/p>\n The series is not sentimental in itself, but it helps the history to feel real and current by making its characters empathetic, emotional and complex.<\/p>\n This is, of course, largely borne out through the tragedy of Lincoln\u2019s killing, with Lili Taylor doing great work as his grieving widow Mary, and Menzies\u2019s Stanton acting as the de facto leader trying to keep it together, remain practical and be a shoulder for others\u2019 sorrow, even while dealing with his own.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s not the only source of emotional resonance. Flashbacks to Lincoln\u2019s life reveal traumas of his own, with Linklater adeptly humanising the figure who is all too often depicted as mythic, while a key subplot involving a former slave, Mary Simms, is sometimes tough to watch, often heartbreaking.<\/p>\n Even Booth, as unforgivable as his actions and motives are, is given a rich interior life, driven by his own bruised ego and pitiful desire for glory \u2013 exposition is subtle, yet these are fully fleshed out characters, with motivations which are often complex, yet always well-drawn.<\/p>\n This approach only works if you have a cast of highly accomplished actors to bring the roles and their own internal struggles to life, and the series has assembled some of the very best character actors around.<\/p>\n Menzies has been impressive for years now in so many supporting roles, so its\u2019 great to see him bring his own unflashy, tempered, yet powerful style of performance to a lead role here.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Boyle continues to prove himself to be one of the most exciting up-and-coming actors working today. Booth could not be further from his Masters of the Air character Crosby, yet both performances are equally well-realised, with a soulful underpinning to both.<\/p>\n We know Booth was an actor, and it seems he was desperate for recognition. Therefore, it\u2019s important that he is both charismatic on some level, but also that we don\u2019t root and that he isn\u2019t lionised. Boyle pitches it perfectly on both counts.<\/p>\n One might wonder how Manhunt fill out seven episodes\u2019 worth of time with this fairly simple story \u2013 Booth killed Lincoln, tried to get away to safety in a Confederate zone and failed, and he was killed on the way.<\/p>\n In truth, there is something to that. The series does at times feel overlong and padded out, with the episodes bleeding into one another and often little progress being made by either camp. One wonders what this would have looked like as a film, or a shorter mini-series of three or four episodes.<\/p>\n However, what this would have surely done is meant less time spent with the show\u2019s supporting characters, each of whom are explored thoroughly here.<\/p>\n The series doesn\u2019t throw in random plotlines and characters from nowhere, simply to explore a certain theme or aspect of the time period. Instead, it introduces characters organically, each of whom has a key impact on the central narrative, but also have their own stories to tell.<\/p>\n Mary Simms is a key example \u2013 her link to the central narrative is there, as she was a witness who testified against one of the conspirators in the trial following Booth\u2019s death.<\/p>\n However, Manhunt also delves into Mary\u2019s own life and her own story, and this is crucial. It would be fairly indefensible to make a drama about the cause of and aftermath of Lincoln\u2019s death without properly addressing the time in which it took place and the context of it, in which the abolition of slavery and the fall of the Confederacy played a crucial part.<\/p>\n Focusing on the lives of the freed slaves is critical in fully exploring this.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a political series in a big P sense \u2013 we see some of Lincoln and Stanton\u2019s work together before the assassination, but this is not the focus.<\/p>\n However, it does take its time to explore the period, in terms both political and non-political, and explore key themes surrounding American division and our treatment of one another as humans, in a subtle way making it feel incredibly timely.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important that viewers don\u2019t go into this series expecting huge surprises, or for it to change their understanding of what happened in any fundamental way. There are a few major details I personally was unaware of, but for the most part and in broad terms this is the history we know.<\/p>\n What does prove surprising are a whole host of smaller details from the work of spymasters to the trials of Booth\u2019s co-conspirators. The show seeps you in the history, and in doing so makes its own narrative and world feel richer.<\/p> It\u2019s in many ways a subtle drama, but is also highly emotionally charged. What it lacks in pace, and there are times at which this drags the show down, it does thankfully make up for in powerful character drama.<\/p>\n Apple TV+ has been on a roll recently, and Manhunt continues this streak. By betting big on the small details surrounding a monumental story, the streamer has once again proven that it is fast becoming the home of some of the best TV storytelling around.<\/p>\n![\"Hamish](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/ManhuntPhoto010102-30f3ed7.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413\" "\\"Manhunt_Photo_010102\\"\/")
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\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>![\"Hamish](\"https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2024\/03\/ManhuntPhoto010701-5ca9872.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413\" "\\"Manhunt_Photo_010701\\"\/")
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