Oscar Isaac’s Greatest TV Performance Is in This Near-Perfect HBO Miniseries

Although HBO has developed many strong working relationships with accomplished showrunners, few artists have as unique a voice as David Simon. Between his groundbreaking work on The Wire, Generation Kill, The Plot Against America, and We Own This City, Simon often explores hot-button issues through his detailed depiction of infrastructure, analysis of societal roles, and allusions to current events.

While Simon’s projects often examined the inadvertent effects of political action upon disenfranchised community members, his brilliant 2015 miniseries Show Me A Hero explored the experiences of Yonkers mayor Nick Wasicsko (Oscar Isaac) within the late 1980s. Show Me A Hero examines the weight of responsibility that comes with holding political office as it details Wasicsko’s life until its tragic end.

‘Show Me a Hero’ Explores the Public Housing Crisis

Based on the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin, Show Me A Hero explores the debate within New York City’s political offices regarding the desegregation of public housing. After the federal judge Leonard B. Sand (Bob Balaban) made an official desegregation order, the city is faced with concerns that it will no longer be able to accommodate housing projects that help support low-income families. The mandate would require new housing projects to be built in the middle class, east side of Yonkers, and ignited a fiery debate amongst the town’s constituents. Although there have been many great movies about controversial elections, Show Me A Hero is able to go in more depth by examining the importance of the desegregation order within local proceedings. Simon shows how the ruling turns Yonkers’ elections into “single issue campaigns,” and examines how its ramifications relate to pre-existing tensions within class and race.

Simon creates a well-rounded depiction of the debate by exploring the perspective of the town’s civil rights advocates, citizens, law enforcement officials, and governmental leaders; it becomes a more lived-in experience as a result of this specificity. The Wire proved that Simon could balance a great ensemble cast, as he explores the systematic issues that brought this debate to the forefront of the public’s attention. While representatives of the Yonkers City Council like its leader, Vinni Restiano (Winona Ryder), advocated passionately for integration, members like Edward Fagan (Allan Steele) offered sharp critiques. It’s this level of realism that Show Me A Hero commands that makes its depiction of racially-motivated conflicts more terrifying. It becomes evident that many of the constituents that claim to be acting on behalf of their “property value” are actually motivated by their own personal prejudices.

Simon has enough respect for the audience that he does not attempt to draw conclusions for them. While not every character interacts with each other, their respective character arcs offer a more well-rounded perspective of the city’s makeup. Characters like the struggling teenage girl Billie Rowan (Dominique Fishback) and her mother Janet (Melanie Nicholls-King) aren’t directly involved in the political decisions made by the Yonkers government, but they are impacted by the decisions made about housing. Simon’s willingness to subvert traditional narrative structure makes Show Me A Hero one of the strongest miniseries ever produced by HBO.

Oscar Isaac Makes Wasicsko an Empathetic Character

Image via HBO

While the terrific ensemble benefits Show Me A Hero’s three-dimensional depiction of the crisis, the series finds its focus thanks to the incredible performance by Isaac. Isaac’s breakout role was playing the titular struggling musician in Inside Llewyn Davis, and he shows a similar heartbreaking perseverance with his performance as Wasicsko. Wasicsko is defined, for better or worse, by his ability to weather through intense personal suffering in order to perform his duty. While this initially earns him a “heroic” public persona, Simon shows how malleable politicians reputations’ are once Wasicsko’s decisions become the centerpiece of the housing controversy. Isaac is able to show how the young mayor’s compassion is at times a disadvantage; he becomes so obsessed with serving the people he represents that he takes dissatisfaction with him as a personal slight.

It’s also highlighted that Wasicsko is a unique protagonist because of his youth. While his youthful energy allows Wasicsko the opportunity to connect with voters on a personal level, it also means that he is running against an establishment that is much more experienced than he is. Simon incorporates a romantic storyline between Wasicsko and the City Hall staffer Nay Noe (Carla Quevedo). Beyond being a great showcase for Isaac’s charisma, this storyline emphasizes that Wasicsko is still a young man, and that his service has made it impossible for him to have a normal life. It’s one of Isaac’s best performances because he shows how Wasickso is competing against the high expectations that he set for himself. Simon acknoweldges that “heroism” is a subjective term, and is willing to engage with Wasickso’s faults.

‘Show Me a Hero’ Is Relevant to Current Political Debates

Image via HBO

HBO

HBO

One of the key plotlines in Show Me A Hero is the vast political, cultural, and generational differences that define the election campaign between Wasicsko and Mayor Angelo R. Martinelli (Jim Belushi), a veteran of the office who is serving his sixth consecutive term. As Martinelli relies upon his familiarity with voters to generate enthusiasm for his campaign, it becomes evident why the system needs to be changed. Simon’s best shows involve a call to action, and Show Me A Hero empowers its audience to be more engaged in the political process.

While Show Me A Hero only focuses on a specific window of time in the history of New York, it encapsulates the ever-present issues of social inequality and racial conflict that continue to dominate political discourse. Yonkers nearly shuts down as a result of these long-running disputes, and both Wasickso and the citizens he represents struggle as a result. Although Show Me A Hero is an informative window into the past, Simon shows that the conflict at its heart is not one that has been settled. Show Me A Hero serves as a powerful reminder that the past must not be forgotten if improvements are to be made in the future.

Show Me A Hero is streaming on Max.