On 14th April 1865, John Wilkes Booth walked up behind Abraham Lincoln in his box at Ford’s Theatre and shot him. As this film’s tagline testifies however, although one man shot Lincoln, more than one man killed him. Booth and his accomplices were pursued and for the most part found and arrested, though Booth himself was shot rather than being brought in to stand trial. Booth and many of his co-conspirators met on occasion before the assassination at a guest house owned and run by Mary Surratt (Robin Wright). Her son John is nowhere to be found and so she is tried by a military court as a conspirator in the assassination. Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a lawyer and soldier who fought for the Union in the US Civil War is assigned to Mary’s defence and despite his initial reluctance to defend her, eventually comes to see the unconstitutional manner in which the trial is being conducted and resolves to defend Mary to the best of his ability.

*****

Despite the seemingly hint-laden title, this film is not really about conspiracies or outlandish conspiracy theories at all. There are none of the JFK-style attempts to peel back the layers of corruption and complicity, rather a fairly straight telling of an altogether compelling story about justice, the rule of law and the US constitution, with a clear and no doubt utterly intentional resonance with recent events in relation to terror-suspects, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. As the conflicted defence attorney, James McAvoy does an excellent job of transitioning through the gears from disgust and indifference, through vehemence and indignation to desperation and even heroism. He quickly realises that whatever Mary Surratt might or might not be guilty of, she deserves but is patently not receiving a fair trial. His antipathy towards her grows convincingly into staunch advocacy for her rights, picking holes in contradictory and unconvincing prosecution evidence, despite his objections and best efforts being thwarted at every turn by the ridiculously biased (but no doubt historically accurate) David Hunter, who presided over the trial of a civilian in full military regalia.

At one point, driven incandescent with frustration at the injustice of the proceedings, Aiken bellows at the court, “it’s not enough is it?” Every witness has been cajoled, threatened and intimidated, every objection by him dismissed, every objection by the prosecutor upheld. It is to McAvoy’s credit that it does not feel like an explosion out of nothing, rather a simmering fury that builds to the point of eruption.

Kevin Kline and Tom Wilkinson make welcome appearances as Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and US Senator Reverdy Johnson respectively, butting heads constantly over the importance of a fair trial versus the crucial point of maintaining the peace and the fragile integrity of the only-just United States. As Stanton says (and with particular post-9/11 resonance), “the world has changed”, to which Johnson retorts, “but the Constitution must not be sacrificed”. Director Robert Redford subtly, but deftly draws attention to the manifold ways in which civil liberties and constitutional principles have been sacrificed on the altar of the “war on terror” and how our desperation to preserve our way of life can cause us to cast aside some of our hitherto most cherished principles. Stanton is not cast as the villain of the piece by any means – the film wisely portrays its various characters in realistic shades of grey – showing him instead to be a desperate and driven man, but not a malevolent one, merely as conflicted and flawed as any of us.

As the many excellent features show, a lot of care and thought has gone into recreating the era of the trial, with lighting, street scenes, clothing and cityscapes all thoroughly up to scratch. Redford was clearly operating on a modest budget, but the film never looks or feels cheap or half-baked. Instead, something fascinating, informative, intellectually stimulating and politically relevant and resonant has been crafted and it is a considerable shame that the film found less of an audience ($11.5m in the US to date against a $25m budget) and received less of a warm critical reception when it first hit the screens (at least here in the UK) that it seems to have deserved.

Despite the grand, sweeping themes, the running time is relatively tight, coming in at just under two hours (though a few more minutes off that would have helped the film feel a little brisker) and as alluded to earlier, the parallels drawn within James D Solomon and Gregory Bernstein’s script between the events portrayed and those of the past decade are tactfully handled rather than being hammered home.

This is well worth a watch and perhaps is better suited to and will find more of a home on the small(er) screen. You can buy it on DVD or Bluray here.

****~ (4/5)

Extras:

• Short featurettes by the American Film Society titled “Witness History” on everything from production design, to the defendant’s Catholic beliefs, costume design, props, military trials and a couple of the main characters from the story. Informative.
• Making Of Documentary with contributions from Robert Redford. Brief but interesting
• Director’s Commentary. At times Redford has much to say about the quality of the cast, the apparent ease with which British actors find US accents and the challenges of creating an authentic period feel for the film. At other times he falls silent for minutes at a time when it would be nice to hear a bit more from him. Perhaps a two- or three-hander would have helped fill that empty space a little?
• Photo Gallery

**½~~ (2.5/5)

Additional Bluray Extras (not available for review)

• Picture-in-Picture commentary
• Plot to kill Lincoln documentary
• Theatrical Trailer

Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination drama The Conspirator is out on DVD and Blu-ray on the 24th of October and we’ve been given a clip from the film to share with you.

Redford has assembled an excellent cast for the film, which had a decent, if a little short lived, theatrical release earlier in the year and the extras on the home entertainment formats include a commentary from the director as well as some historical accompaniaments to give you a little of the back story to the film.

James McAvoy​ and Robin Wright lead the cast, telling a story of the fallout of the assassinatin of Abraham Lincoln. Justin Long​, Evan Rachel Wood , Tom Wilkinson , Alexis Bledel , Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell , Kevin Kline and Danny Huston​ are in support.

Here’s a synopsis to further advise,

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln ’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

Here’s the clip, check back tomorrow for our review of the film.

To mark the release of The Conspirator on DVD and Blu-ray 24th October, Universal Studios have given us five copies of the movie to give away on DVD. The ovie stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Justin Long, Danny Huston, Evan Rachel Wood and is directed by Robert Redford.

Esteemed British actor and Golden Globe® nominee* James McAvoy (X-Men: First Class) leads a stellar cast including Kevin Kline (Wild Wild West) Robin Wright (Unbreakable) and Tom Wilkinson (Shakespeare in Love)in Robert Redford’s compelling drama. Based on the true story and dramatic real life trial of those accused of the assassination of US President Abraham Lincoln, audiences will be gripped by this fascinating and tragic period in American history.

Stunning cinematography and a haunting score are amplified by state-of-the-art Blu-ray^™ and DVD technology which evoke the steely atmosphere of the American courtroom in 1865 perfectly.

McAvoy stars as Fred Aiken, an eager, newly qualified Yankee lawyer in this dramatic film, set within the ominous backdrop of post Civil War Washington. Aiken is convinced by his mentor Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) to act as defense lawyer for Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the only female accused of being involved in Lincoln’s assassination, and the focus of a tense struggle between justice and duty.

The Conspirator features incredible bonus content which will transport you back to 1865 America, including an audio commentary from Robert Redford himself, a behind-the-scenes making-of feature and a series of specially created ‘Witness History’ featurettes, which give an in-depth insight into this fascinating story – from both in front of and behind the cameras. The Blu-ray^™ also features an absorbing 66 minute featurette on the plot to kill President Abraham Lincoln.

Capturing the tone and mood of the era wonderfully, The Conspirator will provoke you to consider the fragility of human rights in desperate circumstances.

To be in with a chance of winning the movie on DVD, simply answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, The Conspirator?

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 24th October at 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received
• No cash alternative is available

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Film ©2010 Universal Studios.  All Rights Reserved.

Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination drama The Conspirator is now out in the UK, although without a huge amount of fanfare so let’s get everyone in the mood with a new poster, shall we?

We’ve seen a few images and had ourselves a trailer and anything with James McAvoy will stir a certain section of the UK audience and there’s a decent cast with Robin Wright, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood , Tom Wilkinson , Alexis Bledel , Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell , Kevin Kline and Danny Huston alongside McAvoy.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln ’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

Here’s your poster,

Start clapping like impressed sea-lions at the people from IMPA

Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, via Yahoo! Movies, have released the first official trailer for political thriller The Conspirator.

Directed by Robert Redford, The Conspirator stars Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Johnny Simmons, Toby Kebbell, Kevin Kline and Danny Huston.

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice-President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright), 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt: her own son, John (Simmons).

The Conspirator will be released in the US in April. A UK release date is not yet known.

Running from September 9th to 19th, Toronto’s annual film festival appears to have assembled an interesting mix of both studio and independent features in their programme this year.

Now in its 34 year, the festival will show The Town, Ben Affleck’s follow-up to his acclaimed 2007 debut Gone Baby Gone as part of the Gala screening group, alongside Robert Redford’s film on the aftermath of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, The Conspirator.

Darren Aronofsky’s latest Black Swan is another scheduled for the Gala, a week after it officially opens the Venice Film Festival.

Nice to see our own Mike Leigh and Stephen Frears over there (with Another Year and Tamara Drewe, respectively), films which garnered generally favoured reviews back in May at Cannes.

The official Toronto International Film Festival website has a full list of the films showing.

The Playlist have debuted the first couple of images from James McAvoy’s new movie, The Conspirator which I’ve placed below (click to enlarge).

The Scottish actor has hit the big time at the box office bringing us some awesome films including Atonement, The Last King of Scotland and Wanted with Angelina Jolie. Wanted was so successful that he’s been signed up for the sequel which is due for release some time in 2011 with both Jolie returning (somehow!) and Timur Bekmambetov directing. It goes to show that McAvoy is currently hot property in the land of Hollywood.

The Conspirator is directed by Robert Redford and co-stars Robin Wright-Penn. It’s currently being shot in Savannah, Georgia and some of the readers of The Playlist have sent some images of the cast which they’ve found out also includes Evan Rachel Wood, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline and Toby Kebbell.

The picture is a period drama based on true events following the assassination of President Lincoln and centers on the story of Mary Surratt, an alleged accomplice and conspirator of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin John Wilkes Booth.

We can expect to see The Conspirator later on in 2010.