Four U.S. presidents have been killed by an assassin, and it’s arguable that the least famous of them is James Garfield, the 20th man to assume commander-in-chief duties. Thus, Death by Lightning is, first and foremost, a compelling attempt to restore his legacy (and memory) as an honorable progressive cut down before he could affect the change he promised.

Yet in its portrait of a madman justifying his unrepentant greed and criminality by claiming that he was embracing (and embodying) American values, it’s also a sneakily timely tale that boasts echoes of our present domestic madness. With big, brash performances from an all-star cast led by Matthew Macfadyen and Michael Shannon, it’s a four-part historical drama (premiering Nov. 6 on Netflix) which suggests that today’s rot has its roo

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