Review of The Conspirator (2011) by Philip S — 01 Sep 2011

Legal dramas are nothing new to Hollywood. Neither are period pieces. So it comes as no surprise that despite being helmed by legendary actor/director Robert Redford, and front loaded with a whole host of stars, The Conspirator is largely a disappointment. One of the best comparisons that can be made here is to the Tom Cruise WWII piece, Valkyrie. What makes the two movies so similar is that both are misleading. In Valkyrie, audiences were led to believe that there would be more about the various plots to assassinate Hitler. A similar situation happens in The Conspirator. The story does delve a little into what might have been discussed between Booth and his alleged conspirators. But the problem is that while it does, that background is limited. The majority of the story took place in the courtroom, and focused mainly on allegations that Mary Suratt openly housed John Wilkes Booth and the others. Other than that, it doesn't give much information on the alleged plot. Again, this is very similar to how Valkyrie was written. It makes the movie something of a letdown.

Some audiences will argue that deep down, the point of The Conspirator is a statement about the judicial system. Here's the problem with that. It can't be denied that said statement does exist in the story. But it's also not the first legal drama to ever make such a statement. Having noted that, it only serves to make The Conspirator even less memorable.

The writing for the story was a disappointment. But as disappointing as it was, The Conspirator wasn't without its positives. Period pieces are a gamble in many cases. In the case of The Conspirator, that gamble turned out at least a partial win. The movie makes up for its writing thanks to the costumes, the dialect, and the general pacing of the story. Far too many period pieces try too hard to take audiences back to the era in which they were set. As a result of that over the top effort, said movies slip themselves up. The Conspirator is the opposite. It actually helps to pull audiences into the story. As a side note, those who want extra information on the costumes, and other factors including the plot to assassinate Lincoln, the blu-ray edition of The Conspirator would be the best bet. It boasts those bonus features and more, that aren't on the standard definition double-disc edition of the movie.

It's one thing to pull audiences into the story behind a movie. It's even harder to keep an audience's attention. Thankfully, the Conspirator actually manages to do that. It's already been noted that most of the story takes place in a courtroom. That alone is enough to make most audiences groan, what with the glut of legal dramas on tv and in theaters. But to their defense, Redford and the movie's writers collectively crafted a story that somehow manages to keep its pace from dragging. If not for that, most audiences woul likely be only half concious while watching it.

The Conspirator isn't a totally unwatchable movie. To it's defense, it is far more watchable than most of the other movies that've been churned out so far this year. But it isn't the only movie of its type to ever have been written and filmed. Combine that with the fact that it didn't really focus on what it led audiences to believe it would, and audiences get a movie that while it is watchable, it'll hardly be one of the more memorable films of 2011, or of any year.