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Robert Redford did a helluva job with presenting a very clear and frightfully honest view of how things were shortly after President Lincoln’s assassination. It certainly is one of those moments in history that many people probably don’t think too much about. It’s also one of those moments where most people will tell you that John Wilkes Booth acted alone, which most people interested in this time period know not to be the case.
Redford does a great job with creating an interesting trial and fully explaining that Booth had help the night that President Lincoln died. He also does a good job with fully balancing out the reasons for the assassination and the country’s mindset after the tragic event occurred. It would have been easy to say that Booth and crew were bad people for what they did, but Redford and writers James Solomon and Gregory Bernstein chose to bring some depth into what southerners were thinking shortly after the Civil War had ended. One cannot begin to understand how fragile the mindset of the United States was during this period of time. Redford and writers made this a shroud for the entire film, as the direction of the country at that point in time rested solely with this one trial. So, the situation created, before the characters were even properly introduced, was important to begin with.
Once the assassination is done, and the situation between the north/south firmly established, the movie shifts gears into focusing on the specific trial against the conspirators. Solomon and Bernstein did a spectacular job with setting up the story that when it finally leads into the main body you are already attached to what’s about to go down in the courtroom. Having seen the four main conspirators in the beginning of the film you understand they’re guilty in the matter. Once Mary Surratt (Robin Wright) is shown you instantly can’t throw her to the wolves like the others, which is vital for this movie to succeed. To compound her story and make her character even more dramatic/interesting is the fact that no one except Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) wants to help her. Once he pushes his understudy Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) into the game then you get why this story is so important. Aiken wants nothing to do with this woman and has to be convinced through a series of self-investigated moments of why Surratt should be fought for and proved innocent. Aiken’s transformation from north supporter to defender of social injustice is slow, but nonetheless powerful by the time the story reaches its zenith. Changing Aiken’s mindset is pretty much a window to changing the country’s mindset. His burden to prove Surratt innocent is not simply meant to save the life of this one woman, but also to save the newly formed country and judicial system from going in the wrong direction. That is a pretty powerful and difficult task for one person to handle, which is why Redford made sure to point out (in no uncertain terms) that the entire country was against Aiken’s plight. Aiken loses everything in his life for his dedication to ‘honest’ justice and a fair trial when trying to defend his client Surratt, which makes this story even more intriguing.
I really like how Redford drove home the point that the country wanted the trial to be an example of how the United States wasn’t going to tolerate the death of its beloved president. It was also interesting to see how Redford presented the country’s need for a swift and decisive punishment for the conspirators. I also really appreciated the other side of his coin, which was Aiken’s struggle to make sure a fair trial was established, even at the worst times for the country. Redford did a commendable job with making the viewer understand the struggle between doing what was right and doing what was needed without making anyone the bad guy (or girl). Even though the viewer will show contempt for prosecuting attorney Joseph Holt (Danny Huston — he’s superb in this film) and Edwin Stanton’s (Kevin Kline) journey to make sure the trial is one-sided, it is still understood why they felt the need to do this.
Again, it’s a beautiful balance between two-sides that weren’t wrong, but sometimes they weren’t right. You may walk away from this film thinking that the country, in a sense, royally screwed Aiken and made a farce of the justice system, but you will also understand why they did what they did.
Anyway, this is a fantastic film that was beautifully crafted. It will keep you interested from beginning to end, without any loose ends left over.
As for the Blu-ray portion of the film, rest assure this is probably one of the nicest releases from Lionsgate. The period clothing and set pieces looked great in HD. You get some really vivid colors, some great lighting (even though it was mostly dim in the night scenes) that offer a raw and rough look to this time period perfectly. There were a few moments of grain here and there, mostly during foggy scenes like when McAvoy’s character is bleeding on the battlefield, but for the most part the video quality was clean and excellent. As for the sound, you get a nice mastered DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack that sounds good, especially with the music of Mark Isham going through the speakers. You will also find some fantastic moments where you’ll jump a bit (watch out for windows at the Surratt house), which might scare the crap out of you, but it means the audio is doing what it should be doing.
In the special features department the Blu-ray includes the following:
– Commentary with Robert Redford (BonusView)
– Audio Commentary with Robert Redford
– The Conspirator: The Plot to Kill Lincoln
– The Making of The Conspirator
– Introduction to The American Film Company
– 10 “Witness History” Featurettes
– Photo Gallery
– Theatrical Trailer and TV Spots
For the history buff out there wanting to see a complete package with great features, this movie will make your day. You’ve got great commentary from director Robert Redford (both visually and audibly), some fantastic featurettes on the history of the time period, the making of the film and a bit more about the plot to kill President Lincoln. It’s nice to see that the special features are just as fascinating and intriguing as the main feature. Lionsgate did a great job with making sure you’re still interested in seeing more about the film, and the story, once the main feature has ended. These are really solid and well made features.