I was more than a little excited when I saw the first trailer for Robert Redford’s The Conspirator two months ago.
Costume drama has that effect on me — James McAvoy does, too.
So while most moviegoers this weekend went tropical at the animated Rio — or were terrified by Scream4 — I spent my Saturday afternoon in a circa-1865 courtroom reliving the conspiracy trial that followed the assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.
I chose right.
Redford captured the aftermath of Lincoln’s assassination — the nation’s shock and grief, the worry of a new Confederate uprising, the lust for revenge and speedy ‘justice’…even if the evidence wasn’t there.
It’s easy to draw parallels to our world today.
Articles say Redford was working with a tiny budget; it wasn’t evident on-screen. The period details were all there. The parade of name actors was also impressive, even if the script didn’t always give them much to do.
No, The Conspirator shines because of two performances: Robin Wright as Mary Surratt, one of the accused, and McAvoy, her initially reluctant attorney, Frederick Aiken.
They are fierce and brave and, ultimately, are what make this movie an intensely moving experience.
“Doing the unrealistic is easier than doing the realistic.” — Tim Ferriss
Jury is in
After spending almost four years in an Italian prison, Amanda Knox is free, her murder conviction overturned. Amanda’s happy. Her family is overjoyed.
And the producers of Homeland are thrilled.
Didn’t connect those dots? Let me do it for you, because it was my first TV-obsessed thought after hearing the verdict.
That’s just the first episode, guys.
Now, Amanda Knox is no American hero. Her lawyers contend she is just a young woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time (although she was found guilty of slander against police and a barman she falsely accused in the crime).
But I’m more concerned about her time in jail. Like the Marine hero of Homeland, Amanda spent years confined in a foreign prison. What did that do to her spirit? To her loyalties?
Okay…not likely. But these are just the kind of comparisons that Showtime executives are hoping viewers will make to keep their series timely and top-of-mind.
At least, until the next Amanda Knox movie is produced.
→ 1 Comment
Posted in Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, News, Television, TV
Tagged Al Qaeda, Amanda Knox, Amanda Knox movie, Amanda Knox verdict, American hero, barman, celebrities, CIA agent Carrie Mathison, commentary, connect the dots, entertainment, Homeland tv show, Humor, Italian prison, Italy, lawyer, life, Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody, murder conviction overturned, news, police, season premiere, Showtime, Showtime executives, slander, Television, TV, tv producers