| Product: |
The Contender (DVD) |
| Date: |
26/03/01 (70 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Good story, great acting
Disadvantages: Long, jingoism
The Contender was released in the US in October, giving audiences a month to enjoy this tale of political intrigue in the build up to the Presidential election. The marketing people did not figure on Foot and Mouth having an effect on the UK release!
It is still slated for general release in April, but they need lose no sleep over UK audiences not watching just because elections here are a moveable feast. This is a very American tale of back stabbing and maneuvering.
The story revolves around the appointment of a Vice President to a sitting Commander In Chief. A little dull constitutional information is useful here. If a veep dies in office, he has no VP of his own to take over. A President can select his Vice, as Clinton proved, and also his Vice President. However, that selection is not automatically approved. As the VP is not running on an electoral ticket, and is therefore not directly elected, the appointment has to be verified by a Confirmation Committee. OK that’s all you need to know to enjoy this film.
The public choice in this case is the solid Florida Governor (no, not Jeb), who has massive approval ratings after a heroic attempt to save a woman from drowning after her car veers off a quiet country bridge. Sadly he failed, and the President was not keen to appoint him, Chappaquidick anyone?
Instead the liberal Democratic President Jackson Evans (played by a particularly engaging Jeff Bridges) wants to leave his mark on history and appoint a woman to the role. His choice is Senator Laine Harrison superbly portrayed by Joan Allen, the slowly coloured in Mom from Pleasantville. Problems ensue above the board. Her father was a Republican Governor, and she started out in the Republican camp before crossing the floor.
Jeff Bridges is excellent, and it is interesting that we get no introduction to the First Lady. For a movie that dedicates itself ‘For Our Daughters’, it is perhaps someth
ing of an oversight that all the power brokers are men, and Joan Allen looks superb. Perhaps liberal Hollywood couldn’t find an actress that looked a little more like Madeline Albright, just to make the portrayal a little more life like.
The fun really starts when the appointment has to be confirmed. Gary Oldman is truly disgusting as Republican Senator Shelly Runyon, Chairman of the Confirmation Committee. His make up, hair and wardrobe is excellent, turning him into a vile balding slimy frump. He hams up the part no end, but I still enjoyed it. He made Ken Starr look positively cuddly.
Christian Slater joins in as a conflicted young Democrat who will do whatever it takes to further his career. His character never really gets off the ground, and I was left a little confused by what role he played in the drama.
The central argument is whether Senator Laines sexual history at college over twenty years ago is really relevant to her appointment to the post of most redundant person in America. There is plenty of to-ing and fro-ing as we are reminded that such questions would not be asked of a man, and that not everyone in government is free from past indiscretions. This portion of the film can’t really decide whether it is about Clintons impeachment, womens rights, guilt over McArthyism or fear of the religious right, and it does get a little over the top in it’s moralising.
The Contender is unashamedly liberal in outlook and does let itself down occasionally when it slips into outright tub thumping America The Beautiful moments, but they are forgivable. It takes some fun side swipes at Clintons appetites, and I am talking food here, honest.
There are some entertaining switcheroos at the end of the film and I really didn’t see them coming, so it was disappointing that it didn’t stop there and leave me stunned. Instead it allowed several characters to indulge in unnecessarily schmaltz
y speeches that made their point, then explained their point, then underlined their point for the hard of thinking.
Although the film is still long at just over two hours, I got the feeling that it had been an awful lot longer and some important dialogue and plot-lining had been lost to save some of the moral underling, highlighting and neon signing. I’d love to see some of the other cuts that had been offered up, and a DVD release that ran more like a mini series would be interesting.
I’d certainly recommend The Contender as entertainment and an interesting if bloated thriller. If your movie budget is limited, then I'd save this one for home viewing, where you can rewind and take breaks to be sure of where it's going.
I’d like to recommend it as a film that gave you lots to think about, but the film makers have carefully removed that inconvenience for you.
http://www.thecontender-thefilm.com/
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Last comment:
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azazel - 04/04/01 To be honest, i had not even heard of the film 'The Contender' before i had read this op. But it sounds really good though. I'm not really a big fan of films involving politics. I didn't like that one with John Travolta about Bill Clinton. But the contender really seems like a good film and has a good cast. And it stars Gary Oldman, one of my favourite actors, so i'll give it a look. Good review. Colin. |
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