Julia Roberts and Sean Penn offer themselves a trip of choice in the explosive universe of politics.
Indeed, the
Gaslit
mini-series , directed by Matt Ross, looks back on one of the most significant episodes in the history of the United States: the Watergate scandal, a spy affair that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974. Based on the first season of the
Slow Burn
podcast , by journalist Leon Neyfakh, this creation intends, however, to highlight a new part of the story: the role of Martha Mitchell (played by Julia Roberts), wife of the the country's Attorney General, John Mitchell (Sean Penn), who was one of the first whistleblowers in this case.
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Full screen
Sean Penn and Julia Roberts as Martha and John Mitchell in
Gaslit
.
Starzplay
A television woman
Martha Mitchell, an extravagant character recognizable by her puffy hairstyles and her colorful dresses, launched into an unprecedented battle with the government.
Accustomed to television sets and known for her speeches without jargon on the activities of her husband, prosecutor and member of the Republican Party, close to Nixon, she worked in the shadows to bring out the truth.
And this, from the burglary of the offices of the Democratic Party in the Watergate building.
Indeed, in 1972, five plumbers were arrested by the police after entering the premises of the opposition party.
Shortly after, the close links between these men equipped with listening equipment and the White House will be established.
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Julia Roberts in the
Gaslit miniseries
.
Starzplay
Suspicious and wary of her husband's silence, Martha Mitchell then took it into her head to alert the press, despite the consequences.
Publicly discredited, she will also be accused of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice and sentenced to nineteen months in prison.
She divorced John Mitchell and died in 1976 of bone cancer.
As Vogue
raises
, Richard Nixon will say in 1977, three years after his resignation: “Without Martha, there would have been no Watergate”.
Among the other key characters in this affair, there is in particular John Dean, lawyer and legal adviser to the White House, played by actor Dan Stevens (
Downton Abbey
).
But also his wife, known as Mo, played by Betty Gilpin (from the
Glow
series ), and Gordon Liddy (played by Shea Whigham), considered the conductor of Watergate.
Full screen
Sean Penn as John Mitchell in
Gaslit
.
Starz Play
Deployed through eight episodes of about an hour,
Gaslit
will be released on April 24 on the StarzPlay streaming platform.