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Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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The Conspirator (Film)

by Annette Basile | July 25, 2011 12:03 | Edited August 01, 2011 17:16

It has considerable merit, but the film ultimately keeps audiences at a distance and fails to be the stirring experience one may expect given its rich subject matter.

Robert Redford wants The Conspirator to be The Great American Movie. And Robin Wright probably wants to get an Oscar out of it. Strangely, Redford's direction and Wright's central performance are appreciated only in retrospect - the actual experience of watching this undeniably well-crafted slice of history feels like homework.

 

Washington, 1865. Wright is Mary Surratt. Along with seven men (including her son, John), Surratt is charged with conspiring to kill US President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary Of State William Seward. Fate spared Johnson (who became President after Lincoln's death) and Seward, but Lincoln's assassination by John Wilkes Booth is what Americans remember about their history - not the conspiracy or Mary Surratt.

 

The Confederate loyalist and actor Booth frequented Mary's boarding house, where the simultaneous attacks on the three political leaders were plotted. Her son is on the lam, but Mary, at the very least, allegedly knew what was going on under her boarding house roof. Arrested and thrown in jail, she now faces the death penalty. Enter Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a lawyer and Civil War hero who almost died for the Union cause. Against the political tinderbox of post-Civil War America, Aiken is more or less forced to defend Mary - and the courtroom drama, and Aiken's initially uneasy relationship with Mary, becomes the focus of the film.

You can see why political progressive Robert Redford was attracted to the project and saw its relevance to post 9/11 America. It's not that non-Americans won't be able to follow the politics, but there's a whole angle about the Constitution here - Mary was tried by a Military Tribunal rather than in a civil court, which goes against the Constitution. But The Conspirator doesn't turn the Constitutional angle into something universal - Redford is speaking on a direct line to Americans, effectively blocking the rest of us out.

The script by TV writer James Solomon should take some of the blame for this; on top of that, it's almost lifeless. There's an overload of poorly defined peripheral characters, and for a tale about life-and-death, there's scant genuine emotion. There's something clinical about the whole exercise - especially Wright's performance as Mary Surratt. She is at once amazing and inaccessible as a woman who maintains that she is innocent with real dignity. Whether it was Redford's call or Wright's, the performance is too contained.

 

The film is bracketed by moments of genuine brilliance. Finally, in the beautifully shot climactic scenes, there is real feeling, with Redford powering as a director. The early scenes covering the night that Lincoln was assassinated are quite exciting. The period detail is finely tuned, and the cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel is impressive. But everything gets bogged down in the drab courtroom and slow storytelling.

We've seen these kinds of films before - the reluctant lawyer and the dubious defendant, bonding over ninety or so minutes. Interesting as it is though, there's no fresh take on this. McAvoy is solid and believable as Aiken, and he and Wright work well together. The best scenes are theirs. The A-list supports are all good. Danny Huston is strong in the courtroom, but the ever enjoyable Tom Wilkinson's Southern accent almost makes you want to laugh. Evan Rachel Wood (Across The Universe, The Wrestler) puts a spark into her role as Mary's daughter, but Kevin Kline is the most memorable, proving once again what a fine dramatic actor he can be.

 

Redford is generally held up as proof that actors who really want to direct, sometimes actually can. Ordinary People, his 1980 directorial debut, netted him an Oscar. 1994's Quiz Show is riveting, but 2000's The Legend Of Bagger Vance remains unloved, and 2007's Lions For Lambs was only so-so. While there's much worth in his latest work, a big historical drama like this should stir the heart. Instead, you're kept at a distance - and for a long two hours at that. For all its faults, The Conspirator is not a waste of time. But cinematic as it is, you might be best to leave it for the lounge room.