‘House of Cards’ review: ‘You’ve got to get a grip on who your masters are’

Tim Carmody reviews! Netflix’s bold bet on an original political drama and simultaneous release of all thirteen episodes pays off

Like other elements of House of Cards, this may be a stylized take on reality, but it’s another way the show feels utterly real and contemporary. Executive producer David Fincher directed the first two episodes, and for the most part this is the rounded, realist Fincher of Zodiac. Like The Social Network, it feels like a period piece about the present. We move between the halls of power and ramshackle row houses, office cubicles and messy apartments, dumpsters at midnight and inaugural balls.