PG-13 | | Crime, Drama, History | 15 April 2011 (USA)
In 2010’s “The Conspirator,” Robert Redford’s courtroom drama about President Lincoln’s assassination, it’s clear that Redford, in director-storyteller mode (as opposed to movie star mode) fearlessly burrows into moral and ethical dilemmas in order to excavate The Truth, and make sure it survives. He did that to hilarious effect in “The Milagro Beanfield War,” and does it here in high dramatic fashion.
Warrior Lawyer
After surviving the war, Union army captain and lawyer Frederick Aiken (brilliantly played by Scottish actor James McAvoy, with an impeccable American accent) is arm-twisted by Senator Reverdy Johnson (another of Tom Wilkinson’s finely rendered wise and wily jurists) into defending Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), who is accused of participating in a conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln.
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline) holds the puppet strings to the corrupt wartime courtroom, which will stop at nothing to secure the American people’s (assumed) need for closure on the Lincoln murder, by executing a scapegoat. Even if that means willfully subverting the truth and killing a possibly innocent woman.
The film, elaborately costumed and shot in a misty, grainy light to convey the fusty dust of history, is largely chiaroscuro due to the candlelit evening and night scenes, and perhaps also due to the limited budget Redford had to work with. The opening 10 minutes drags a bit, but then Redford hits his stride, and the story roars to life.
The truth about the war department’s cover-up of the facts surrounding the Lincoln assassination is only coming to light for public consumption exactly 136 years later. This is an attempted clarification of the facts about who was involved, what Mary Surratt knew (she rented rooms to the conspirators at her inn), and what her son and daughter knew.
Furthermore, it examines which string was attached to which puppet, how the puppets themselves held other strings, and where, in turn, those strings led to. There’s much back-and-forth between Surratt’s prison cell and the courtroom, with defense lawyer Aiken gathering information and checking facts.
A Shift in Perspective
Slowly we see Aiken’s Yankee hatred of Southerner Surratt begin to dissipate, as he comes to see the humanity behind the rebel flag. In light of our tendency to forget, “The Conspirator” asks us to have another look at the question of whether it’s ever okay to subvert the truth and the law in order to support a “greater good,” or facilitate a “larger cause.” That is, to keep the people sedated by manufacturing their bliss through force-fed ignorance.
The unsung hero of “The Conspirator,” even perhaps more so than Redford, is history buff, entrepreneur, and executive producer Joe Ricketts, founder of online brokerage firm Ameritrade as well as The American Film Company. The truth will out, and it’s good to have people like Ricketts and Redford doing the excavating. Sundance is very radical now, but a few years ago, truth was more important to filmmakers than it is in this current blight of slanting truth to fit a particular partisan narrative and agenda.
Speaking of such things as outing and excavating the truth, posting this review of “The Conspirator” on the heels of the roiling conspiracies surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, is meant as an inspiration. It’s inspiring to know that there are passionate, patriotic politicians and lawyers, down in the nation’s Capitol, as well as dedicated journalists, who are excavating as we speak. We find ourselves in a time when theories are everywhere, but we’ll continue to wait for the hard facts. We shall see what we shall see. The truth will out.
‘The Conspirator’
Director: Robert Redford
Starring: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, James Badge Dale, Colm Meaney, Alexis Bledel
Running Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: April 15, 2011
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
