The Plot Against America

Spector is the show’s absolute standout, but the supporting cast is no less incredible. ... At only six episodes, the limited series is like a bullet train of storytelling, and never feels like it’s spinning its wheels. ... But the series finale also presents the biggest stumbling block. The show’s ultimate resolution to America’s spreading unrest and violence (and, let’s face it, Naziism) is ludicrous to the point of being unforgivable.

Herman is a thankless role. Bess, on the other hand, who is equal parts maternal caution and nervous calculation, is given a deeply moving portrayal by the wonderful Ms. Kazan, and is really the heart of the story. ... “The Plot Against America,” which grows increasingly nervous-making as it closes in on an ending far more topical and obvious than the one Roth provided, is overly deliberate in its period detail and almost distracting in its evocation of time and place (mostly Newark, N.J.). This is because the world it presents doesn’t look lived in and characters living in it often sound less like people out of the ’40s than people out of ’40s movies.

Factoring out the speculative aspects of the story, one is left with a moderately diverting drama of a family under pressure, arguing about whether what looks like trouble is really trouble. (It really is.)

What works so well on the page becomes inert on the screen. This superb cast, headed by the always fine Spector, fights the inertia but it can't fight the novel.

Early episodes, written by Simon and Burns, struggle to find the sliver of space that exists between topical significance and emotional consequence. Characters tend to expound rather than converse, having arguments with one another that sound more like op-eds than the range of personal experience. ... By the fourth episode, “The Plot Against America” begins to feel less like a book report and more like a compelling drama.