Michael Dobbs, Beau Willimon
House of Cards - Prima Stagione

Netflix, politics, and Kevin Spacey: three elements that have led to a modest revolution in the world of series.

But first, we need to make some premises and give a little more info.

First premise: what is Netflix? Simply a platform that offers, by paying a subscription, streaming of movies and TV shows. Clear and straightforward. In the United States, it gradually established itself, while in South America and some European countries it was a big boom, allowing the company to count on more than 50 million subscribers. In Italy, there is still no trace of this service (did you have any doubt? Could Italy ever keep up with the times?), but let's move on.

Second premise: “House of Cards” is the first original series produced by Netflix, which doesn't broadcast the series but makes it fully available starting from a single day; it will then be up to the users to decide at what pace to watch the series. The concept of a TV show is completely changed: no more weekly broadcasts (at least not in countries where Netflix is active), no more procedural approach, but we can talk about a film divided into several parts. It is based on a literary trilogy by Michael Dobbs, adapted into a television series of the same name broadcast by the BBC in 1990, set in the British political environment.

Third premise: Kevin Spacey. No need to add more.

The pilot was directed by that master called David Fincher, but the directorial level remains high throughout the series.

The plot is quite simple: it describes the political mechanisms that move the United States, and does so from the inside, from the corridors of the White House, from the Oval Office, and from the perspective of Frank Underwood, played by a masterful Kevin Spacey who steals the scene from anyone.

Frank Underwood, a Congressman for the Democratic Party and majority leader in Congress, directed the victorious electoral campaign of Garrett Walker, who became the 45th President of the United States. But, when the new President fails to honor the promise made before his election, that is to appoint him Secretary of State, Underwood starts a devious and internal struggle to take personal revenge.

The political heights will be shaken by his internal plots.

A very talkative series, with little action, but equally captivating.

Dialogues well-written with terrifying cynicism. The deceitfulness of the protagonists oozes from everywhere, as their sole intent is to prevail over one another.

It seems there is no room in the world described by “House of Cards” for honesty, for the good of the country, for others. Everyone looks out for themselves, no one excluded.

Perhaps it is precisely for this reason that such a product is appealing: for its realistic nature.

A well-assembled cast: Robin Wright, the Jenny from “Forrest Gump,” here plays Claire, Underwood's wife, a woman with a thousand facets, able to come into conflict even with her husband, with whom she has a truly emblematic and hard-to-define relationship. Then there are also Michael Kelly, Corey Stoll, Kate Mara, and Sakina Jaffrey, much less known but delivering excellent interpretations. Just as excellent are the secondary characters populating the series, like journalist Zoe Barnes, ready to do anything to get a scoop out of the White House walls; Doug Stamper, Underwood’s trusted man, whom I’d dare to define more as his henchman; and then the Congressman Peter Russo, more inclined to drugs, alcohol, and prostitutes than legislation.

Each with their peculiarities, with a hidden facade, driven by internal struggles within their personalities, ready to do anything but in constant conflict with themselves.

And in this picture, one is almost not surprised that the most secondary character of all is the President of the United States, relegated to a marginal role, overwhelmed by the thirst for power of deputies and senators, at the mercy of their personal ambitions, and very often unprepared to fight the problems that his role imposes on him alone.

From the most powerful man on the planet, here he is described as the most fragile and helpless of the politicians. A sort of wildcat in a pit full of fierce and hungry lions.

In this context, the viewer will find themselves involved, hearing about what televisions and newspapers narrate to us daily, but this time spying on what the real dynamics could be surrounding each political maneuver. This involvement is significantly heightened by the protagonist Frank Underwood, who several times finds himself breaking the "fourth wall," that is, looking into the camera and speaking directly to the viewer. A technique exploited incredibly here.

Definitely a TV show I highly recommend.