The Conspirator
0.5/4
Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Alexis Bledel, Colm Meaney, Justin Long
Rated PG-13 for Some Violent Content
Words fail me. How can I begin to comprehend how bad "The Conspirator" is? It has such a strong cast and director that expecting something entertaining if not provocative is completely fair. Yet what is on screen is a misfire in just about every department.
April 1865. The Civil War has just ended. The North is rejoicing while Southerners are burning with resentment. Tensions overflow when a group of men assassinates President Abraham Lincoln. One of the accused is a woman named Mary Surratt (Wright). A young lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy) is assigned by a senator (Wilkinson) to defend her. Aiken doesn't want the job; as a former soldier, he saw first hand what the South did to the North and feels that she deserves exactly what's coming to her. On top of that, the nation wants justice so badly that defending her would become professional suicide. But the more he talks to her and hears the testimony against her, the more he believes that there is a possibility that she is innocent.
About the best thing that I can say about this movie is that it usually makes sense. The acting is flat, bordering on embarrassing in some cases. The only ones who escape unscathed are McAvoy, who gives it a game try, and Kevin Kline, who disappears under a lot of convincing makeup. Robin Wright is boring, and Mary Surratt is a cliche. Evan Rachel Wood is uneven. Ditto for Alexis Bledel, as Aiken's obligatory love interest. Danny Huston is awful; this is easily the worst performance he's ever given. Tom Wilkinson is barely on screen. Ditto for Kevin Kline, who is truly convincing as the Secretary of War who is willing to send an innocent woman to the gallows in the hopes that it will satiate the nation's bloodlust. Justin Long has absolutely nothing to do.
"The Conspirator" is built on cliches, and Robert Redford isn't able to breathe any life into them. The lawyer who doesn't want the case but becomes the accused's biggest advocate after hearing her empty profundities (the film repeatedly steals from "A Few Good Men"). The sleazy opposing team. The girlfriend who leaves him because she disagrees with him. The "surprise" twists." All that is here, and while there's no rule that cliches can be presented in ways that are entertaining, it doesn't happen in this movie.
I'm still in a state of shock that a movie with this much talent could have misfired so badly. The film even looks like crap (the cinematography by Newton Thomas Siegel, who has shown talent in the past and after this debacle, is stale), and the script is riddled with problems.
Sad.
Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Alexis Bledel, Colm Meaney, Justin Long
Rated PG-13 for Some Violent Content
Words fail me. How can I begin to comprehend how bad "The Conspirator" is? It has such a strong cast and director that expecting something entertaining if not provocative is completely fair. Yet what is on screen is a misfire in just about every department.
April 1865. The Civil War has just ended. The North is rejoicing while Southerners are burning with resentment. Tensions overflow when a group of men assassinates President Abraham Lincoln. One of the accused is a woman named Mary Surratt (Wright). A young lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy) is assigned by a senator (Wilkinson) to defend her. Aiken doesn't want the job; as a former soldier, he saw first hand what the South did to the North and feels that she deserves exactly what's coming to her. On top of that, the nation wants justice so badly that defending her would become professional suicide. But the more he talks to her and hears the testimony against her, the more he believes that there is a possibility that she is innocent.
About the best thing that I can say about this movie is that it usually makes sense. The acting is flat, bordering on embarrassing in some cases. The only ones who escape unscathed are McAvoy, who gives it a game try, and Kevin Kline, who disappears under a lot of convincing makeup. Robin Wright is boring, and Mary Surratt is a cliche. Evan Rachel Wood is uneven. Ditto for Alexis Bledel, as Aiken's obligatory love interest. Danny Huston is awful; this is easily the worst performance he's ever given. Tom Wilkinson is barely on screen. Ditto for Kevin Kline, who is truly convincing as the Secretary of War who is willing to send an innocent woman to the gallows in the hopes that it will satiate the nation's bloodlust. Justin Long has absolutely nothing to do.
"The Conspirator" is built on cliches, and Robert Redford isn't able to breathe any life into them. The lawyer who doesn't want the case but becomes the accused's biggest advocate after hearing her empty profundities (the film repeatedly steals from "A Few Good Men"). The sleazy opposing team. The girlfriend who leaves him because she disagrees with him. The "surprise" twists." All that is here, and while there's no rule that cliches can be presented in ways that are entertaining, it doesn't happen in this movie.
I'm still in a state of shock that a movie with this much talent could have misfired so badly. The film even looks like crap (the cinematography by Newton Thomas Siegel, who has shown talent in the past and after this debacle, is stale), and the script is riddled with problems.
Sad.
Comments
Post a Comment