F.S. Key After the Song (2017)

A three-part series about the life story of Francis Scott Key is told through remembrances from his closest associates, as played by a group of gifted actors. Key wrote our national anthem but was also a constitutional lawyer and an ambitious political operative for President Andrew Jackson whose conflicted views on slavery reflects the antebellum societies attitudes that eventually lead to civil war. The series is a window into the antebellum mindset that in many ways continues to raise questions to this day. The film centers on interviews between the filmmaker and a series of 13 characters from history who discuss and explore the events of Francis Scot Key's lifetime in a collective conversation that's supplemented with interviews with academicians and experts on the historical period. Re-creations of some historical events add further depth to the film. Part One of F.S. Key After the Song is subtitled "The Era of Good Feelings." It starts a heartbeat after Jackson's battle of New Orleans and is a primer on early slavery. Part Two is titled "Might Versus Right." It centers on Key's change in character and his involvement in the Jackson Administration and his transformation into a political operative. Part Three is titled "Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely." It shows how Key goes head-to-head with abolitionists' ideas -- and loses.