TV Review: The Good Lord Bird. (2020). Showtime.

Based on the recent novel by James McBride, previously reviewed here, Ethan Hawke stars in this Showtime mini-series as the abolitionist John Brown, as seen through the eyes of a young freed slave boy in a dress (played by Hubert Point-Du Jour), who's been mistaken by Brown for a girl.

It's a compelling performance in many ways -- Hawke vividly portrays a complex, driven man, who on the one hand is buffoonish and often ridiculous in his religious fanaticism and his conviction in the odds of success for his divine mission, but who also is shown to care deeply and passionately for his family, his religion and the enslaved people he hopes to save.

As with the book, having the story told through the voice of the young boy, as he tries to make sense of John Brown's astonishing actions and his own precarious, evolving situation, adds both humor and a much-needed black slave’s perspective to the unfolding drama, and to Brown's crazed yet morally righteous viewpoint and utterances. Recommended.