Reviewed by Lamar Kukuk
5/6/11
People often cite “two people
standing in a room and talking” as the least cinematic thing you could
commit to film, but given how riveting a good, well-written and acted conversation
can be, I don't think it even comes close. The greatest challenge
to film in a way that quickens an audience's pulse rather than lulling
them to sleep is ethics. Outside of church, people don't like to
be preached to, not even if they agree with the pastor, and an unpopular
lesson is hard to dramatize without turning the audience off. But,
undaunted, Oscar-winning director Robert Redford attempts for the second
time in a row to deliver an ethics lecture (less literally this time, than
in Lions for Lambs, where he basically
sat behind a desk and delivered an ethics lecture) with The Conspirator.
Like Lambs, this true story of the military tribunal that judged
Mary Surratt for her suspected role in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
is more effective as a tale of unpleasant political realities than the
high-minded ideals it attempts to espouse. But it is well-acted,
intriguing, and more historically accurate than a movie trying to use John
Wilkes Booth to make a point about Guantanamo Bay would ordinarily be expected
to be. But in choosing the harder but more honest narrative path
of refusing to totally commit to a side on Surratt's guilt or innocence,
it also proves to be a tad lacking in dramatic urgency. There's very
little sugar in The Conspirator's spoon, but fans of historical
drama should find that its medicine goes down OK.
Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy)
returns from the Civil War a hero of the winning side and hopes to settle
down into law practice with his girlfriend Sarah Weston (Alexis Bledel).
But not long after his reintroduction to Washington society, President
Abraham Lincoln is gunned down by John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell).
Booth is killed by pursuing law enforcement and an investigation quickly
rounds up a group of local citizens suspected of having conspired with
him to murder the Commander in Chief and other cabinet officials (unsuccessfully
in the later case) to light the fuse of a Confederate resurgence.
Among them is Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), and Aiken is solicited by former
US Attorney General Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to help him defend
her against an unprecedented military tribunal against non-commissioned
US citizens. The tribunal is the brainchild of Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton (Kevin Kline), who has seized dictatorial powers over the response
to the assassination, determined to restore order at all costs while the
newly-sworn President Andrew Johnson stays on the sidelines to prevent
the appearance of Southern sympathies. The first day of the tribunal,
it becomes clear that Johnson, a Southerner, is a poor advocate for a Southern
sympathizer like Surratt: after refusing to recite a loyalty oath,
he steps aside and leaves Aiken on his own to mount a defense. His
hands are tied: under tribunal rules, JAG Joseph Holt (Danny Huston)
owes him no discovery or witness lists and virtually any line of defense
inquiry can be ruled out of bounds by tribunal President General David
Hunter (Colm Meaney). Propriety and expediency are the order of the
day, and Surratt is not terribly forthcoming in her own defense.
Aiken tries to get more information out of her daughter Anna (Evan Rachel
Wood), but it only becomes more and more clear that her brother John (Johnny
Simmons) was hip-deep in the conspiracy and the best that can be said of
his mother is that she might not have been in the same room as the plotters,
just the same house. As Stanton does his best to “heal” the Nation
by ensuring that someone, anyone, hangs for the assassination, Aiken is
left to plead a deeply unpopular case for the right of even the most heinous
defendant to a fair trial.
Not that The Conspirator
doesn't flinch a little in the face of its own ideals: the real Mary
Surratt seems far more likely to have been directly involved in that conspiracy
than the ambiguous loving mother we see here. Little details like
the government refusing to allow her daughter to see her even while testifying
in court (in reality, Anna visited her cell regularly) and Aiken having
to fight to get her a single afternoon of sunshine are aggressive plays
for audience sympathy invented to convince us that Mary was, in fact, innocent
even while refusing to confirm the “facts” one way or another. And
it's not a particularly effective strategy, since I ultimately felt nothing
for the shifty Surratt family, right up to the bitter end. Wright
and Wood are very effective at playing their characters seeming guilt of
something, but the movie lacks the courage of their convictions.
It's far more successful
at telling the story from Aiken's and Stanton's points of view. While
it's also made the decision to cut Surratt's real-life defense team from
two to one (sorry, John Clampitt, like Matt Damon's fate, your place in
history has been... adjusted) and done some improvising around an incomplete
historical record where his own feelings were concerned, Aiken's story
is quite resonant, and McAvoy is excellent in the role. His conflict
in trying to be a loyal Unionist and a good lawyer to his potentially treasonous
client gives way to a mounting frustration at the farce of the tribunal,
which of course is supposed to remind us of the military tribunals convened
for the prisoners at Guantanamo after 9/11. No matter what evidence
he uncovers or legitimate cross-examination he attempts, Holt, Hunter and
everyone else in the courtroom have gathered to simply give Stanton his
desired verdict, and McAvoy plays his mounting outrage very effectively.
Of course, any 9/11 parable
needs its Cheney, and The Conspirator has an excellent one in Stanton,
who's widely believed to have tampered with witnesses even after arranging
for the tribunals to give himself the ultimate home field advantage in
getting the convictions he desperately desired. Kline is remarkable
in the role, and I honestly didn't even know it was him until the end credits
rolled. And it's hard to do better than Huston if you're looking
for an odious persecutor (can't that guy ever just be misunderstood and
get the girl?).
The supporting performances
are strong across the board, with contemporary-seeming actors like Bledel
and Justin Long easily blending into the period. Overall, the art
direction, cinematography and even the use of extras is top-shelf, really
transporting you to a post-Civil War era where people are genuinely living
and breathing rather than simply playing dress-up.
I pretty much totally agree
with The Conspirator's thesis that even railroading guilty people
is wrong: it would be nice if it had been argued more effectively,
but the actors help to compensate with their urgency where the movie's
lapses in eloquence. And while the historical record may beg to differ
with some of the details, a perusal of Wikipedia shocked me at how many
of the last half hour's outrages really did happen. The Conspirator
isn't all it wishes it was, but it's a solid spring historical drama for
those interested in the subject matter. And, of course, the ethics. |
