Venture behind the true story of one of the world’s most famous
assassinations as Oscar-winning director Robert Redford (Best Director,
Ordinary People, 1980) gives viewers a front-row seat in the
thrilling courtroom battle waged against Mary Surratt (Golden Globe
nominee Robin Wright), the only female charged in the murder of
President Abraham Lincoln. The film costars Golden Globe nominee James
McAvoy as the attorney who reluctantly takes on Surratt’s defense, and
who becomes her biggest ally as government forces align to bring her
down. Featuring an all-star supporting cast including Kevin Kline (A Fish Called Wanda), Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Evan Rachel Wood (HBO’s “True Blood”), Justin Long (Going the Distance) and two-time Oscar nominee Tom Wilkinson, The Conspirator is now available on this Deluxe Edition Blu-ray.
Film (4 out of 5 stars)
The Conspirator tells the true
story of the events that followed the assassination of President
Abraham Lincoln that most people aren’t completely aware of. The movie
opens on a battlefield where we see the aftermath of one of the
battles that occurred at the end of the Civil War. Amongst the dead,
lie two wounded Union soldiers, including Frederick Aiken (James
McAvoy) and his friend Nicholas Baker (Justin Long). On the surface,
this may seem like a superfluous scene but it actually establishes a
couple of things. One is that it provides a glimpse of a war that cost
more American lives than any other war (which is still true today),
and it also establishes the noble character of Aiken who orders
rescuers to save his friend first.
The film jumps ahead in time and Aiken is now an up and coming
lawyer who is well regarded by the upper class society who appreciates
his military service and accomplishments. While at a dinner party, the
guests learn that the President has been shot and they witness his
body being taken from Ford’s Theater to a house across the street.
It’s not long before the Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline)
arrives to take charge and attempt to restore order. He mobilizes
forces to hunt down the killer and his accomplices and shuts down the
streets to cut off their escape.
It isn’t long before Lincoln’s killer and his accomplices are either
killed or captured by Union forces and the survivors are forced to
stand trial. It’s soon discovered that the conspirators plotted at
first to kidnap the President and when that fell through, went forward
with a plot to kill him. Unfortunately for Mary Surratt (Robin
Wright), the plans were made at her boarding-house and she is rounded
up along with the other accomplices to face the death penalty for
treason.
Mary Surratt’s original lawyer is the principled Senator from
Maryland Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) but he removes himself as her
lawyer since he believes he will do more harm than good for her case
because of his state’s southern leanings. He asks Aiken to take over
the cast which Aiken reluctantly does as he believes that Mary is as
guilty as the others. Despite his misgivings, Aiken does the best he
can to represent her and discovers that Stanten and the court system
are determined to do whatever it takes to get a guilty conviction and
to see the prisoners hang.
Aiken’s mounting desire to combat the illegal maneuvers that Stanton
and the Federal prosecutor Joe Holt (Danny Huston) ends up costing him
quite a bit personally. He loses his girlfriend, his membership to a
social club, and he becomes a pariah amongst the townspeople. Only his
closest friends Baker and Hamilton (James Badge Dale) remain by his
side during the trial. With the might of the political machinery of
the United States against him, Aiken must fight for his client against a
pre-ordained fate.
I enjoyed The Conspirator but I also have a great
appreciation for history. The movie’s authenticity added a lot but I
can understand why a lot of people may be turned off by the film’s
pace. Robert Redford is an excellent director who’ve I’ve long admired
as both an actor as a director. I can see what interested him in this
movie, with it’s similarities to modern events such as a government’s
attempt to try civilians in a military court and how power can be
abused in the pursuit of justice.
Redford assembled a great cast for this film, led by McAvoy who had a great year between this and X-Men – First Class.
Kevin Kline is fantastic in his role as an well intentioned man who
will subvert justice itself in order to achieve his own twisted sense
of justice. Wright, Huston, Wood, and Wilkinson perform their roles
with their customary excellence and I also really appreciated how the
pre-electric atmosphere was captured for the film.
Video (4 out of 5 stars)
The film’s 1080p (2.35:1) transfer looks great despite being
deliberately desaturated and filmed in low light. Redford wanted the
film to be historically accurate so the entire film is lit by either
sunlight, candles, oil lamps, or torches which provides some great
atmosphere but leaves the film looking quite dark. Some may not
appreciate this artistic choice, but I felt it added a lot to the film.
Despite the low light, there’s some great detail evident and the
black levels are thankfully as dark and deep as they should be. This is
a fine transfer that looks great even handicapped as it is by creative
decisions.
Audio (4 out of 5 stars)
The Conspirator’s lossless DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 track is
also very effective despite being a historical film filled with
dialogue. The film gets a couple of chances to show off what it can do
with scenes like the opening Civil War battle or during the crowd
scenes following the President being shot where the citizens are filled
with anxiety and work themselves up into a frenzy. Dialogue is always
clear and easy to understand and the music by Mark Isham is nicely
integrated with the rest of the dialogue and effects.
Special Features (5 out of 5 stars)
Even if you don’t care for the movie,
these extras might entice you to keep the disc anyway. This disc is
loaded with a ton of HD extras that will keep you busy for over five
hours!
- Commentary by Director Robert Redford – You have the option of listening to this like a traditional audio commentary or you can see the Picture in Picture version of Redford that I preferred. He doesn’t talk nonstop but when he does it’s always interesting.
- The Conspirator: The Plot to Kill Lincoln – An hour long look into the actual historical events that the film is based on. I thought this was really interesting and it offers some unknown facts that weren’t included in the film. This documentary is very reminiscent of History Channel documentaries.
- The American Film Company – While I respect their dedicated efforts to make historically accurate films, it was bad enough that I had to sit through their promo piece on themselves before the movie started only to see it again as an extra. That’s kind of overkill and extremely unnecessary.
- The Making of The Conspirator – A traditional EPK fluff piece that includes the cast and crew and lasts about ten minutes.
- Witness History: Introduction –
This intro provides the entry point for a bunch of quality mini
featurettes that focus on the different aspects of the movie including:
- The Conspiracy – A look into the events of the conspiracy including comments by historian Thomas R. Turner.
- Production Design – A talk with the film’s Production Designer Kalina Ivanov and her efforts to make everything historically accurate.
- Mary Surratt’s Catholicism – A look into how Surratt’s faith played a role in her verdict and the public opinion of the time.
- Costume Design - The Conspirator‘s costume designers Richard Schoen and Louise Frogley talk about how they recreated authentic clothes of the era .
- Military Trial – A look into military tribunals and what they entailed.
- Props and Special Effects – Prop Master John Bankston shows off his historically accurate props and discusses the effects in the film.
- Frederick Aiken – Defense Lawyer – A look into the life of the attorney who sacrificed a lot personally to represent Surratt.
- Mary Surratt: Guilty or Innocent – A discussion with historians on whether or not she was guilty or not. It seems that most feel that she was guilty of conspiracy because at the very least she knew something was about to happen and didn’t report it.
- Sentence and Execution – A look into the aftermath of the verdict and the conspirator’s execution.
- Theatrical Trailer
- TV Spots
- Photo Gallery
Final Thoughts (4 out of 5 stars)
If you are interested in a historically accurate film that tells the
story of one aspect of the Lincoln assassination that most of the
public isn’t aware of, then this is your film. Well directed, and
filled with great performances, this film offers something intelligent
for audiences to watch in between a lot of the dreck currently being
pushed out by studios. This is another fine directorial effort by
Robert Redford!
Order your copy today!
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