Showtime’s The First Lady is a true marriage between those who love history and those who love actresses. You might tune in to the limited series to see the relationships between Gerald and Betty Ford or Michelle and Barack Obama, or you just might be curious to see how Viola Davis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gillian Anderson fare as the women married to the most powerful man in America.
One might not think that Roosevelt, Ford, and Obama have anything in common, but we learn quickly that these women may have had the same fears as their husbands hurtled towards greatness. The time periods indicate what society might expect of each different woman. In the premiere episode, Franklin D. Roosevelt is diagnosed with polio while Michelle Obama witnesses how her husband’s potential presidency might call for heightened security around their Chicago home. All three of these women have reservations about their husbands becoming President, but Betty Ford is most uncomfortable with the idea.
The First Lady succeeds most when it recognizes that these women’s differences while acknowledging that being the wife of a president is one of the most singular experiences in the country. There is a shared history and sisterhood but Roosevelt is different than Obama and Ford is different than, say, Jill Biden. Bier keeps these women separated to show how isolating the experience can be even though we see links between them like when Ford writes Obama a letter when she cannot attend Barack Obama’s inauguration.
And then you have this incredible trio of women at the center. Davis has the toughest job, because of how close we are to the Obamas. It’s evident just by how Davis carries herself that she has enormous respect and reverence for Michelle Obama, and she refuses to allow anyone to define who she is as a woman inside the White House. The scenes she shares with O-T Fagbenle–before and after Barack is president–are some of the best moments in that third. Davis isn’t just interested in showing Michelle as a first lady but also as a mother. As Eleanor Roosevelt, it’s thrilling to see how she holds her emotions back, and when a chasm opens up in her marriage, that pent up anger and frustration is allowed to flow. One might be hesitant to embrace Anderson as another larger than life figure so soon after her Emmy-winning turn as Maggie Thatcher, but Anderson’s turn is a reminder of she fully embodies her characters.
Michelle Pfeiffer holds you in the palm of her hand as Betty Ford, the first lady who has almost become a punchline when it comes to addiction and alcohol. We probably know the least about Betty Ford’s personal life, so Pfeiffer has the most freedom to play with her interiors. One of Pfeiffer’s strengths is how she can convey fragility with the quiver of her voice or unsure look on her face. Betty Ford was the most unprepared for her role after Richard Nixon’s resignation, and members of the Republican party (like Dick Cheney) want to thwart any potential efforts she may after after Pat Nixon’s exit. Betty is our easiest gateway into The First Lady, and Pfeiffer delivers one of her strongest performances to date. It’s almost as if director Susanne Bier wanted to try her hand at a political version of The Hours, and Davis, Pfeiffer, and Anderson are all sensational.
Some might be overwhelmed by the competing timelines (episode three is dominated by flashbacks and shows how each couple met), but The First Lady is at its most compelling when we are behind closed doors. They say behind every great man is a great woman, but Showtime’s latest effort proudly proclaims that those women stood beside them.
The First Lady airs episodes on Showtime every Sunday. This review is based on the first four episodes.
