''Who WAS Andrew Cunanan, and what caused him to kill all these people?'' For me, that's the fascination.
And it's a 9-part mini-series, so ''Assassination'' isn't spell everything out in one episode. Written by Tom Rob Smith, it's based, to a large part, on ''Vulgar Favors,'' Maureen Orth's detailed and investigative book about Cunanan. But there's a lot that isn't known, so Smith has had to take artistic license and tried to work within the parameters of what IS known. The show is not only an exploration of Cunanan's motives and mindset and obsession with fame, but also a portrait of, to some extent, gay life and homophobia in the '90s. (Frankly, I didn't follow the facts of the Versace murder at the time, so all this stuff about Cunanan's killings before that, and his backstory, is new to me.) ... Besides Criss, who's been so compelling, ''Assassination'' has featured such fine actors (and Tony winners, like Judith Light and Annaleigh Ashford). Obviously, if ''Assassination'' isn't doing for it you, it's easy to change channels. But I'm gonna see how it plays out and then I can reflect on its bigger picture. |
