Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageAbsolute Power (1996)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
When ultra-secretive master burglar Luther Whitney (Eastwood) breaks into the mansion of a politically influential millionaire (Marshall), he's surprised by the arrival of the owner's wife and the discovery (he's hiding in a closet behind a two-way mirror) that she's carrying on with the US President (Hackman). Worse, after their drunken shenanigans turn nasty, Whitney witnesses both a murder and a cover-up. He's soon being chased by the cops (Harris) and the president's aides. Surely the best defence is attack. This light, part-comic Hitchcockian thriller, scripted by William Goldman from a novel by Daniel Baldacci, doesn't rank with Eastwood's best work as actor/director, but it's nevertheless solidly enjoyable. The script may lack even a shading of political analysis or comment, but it's hard to take against a contemporary Hollywood movie which forefronts a cowardly, cynical, philandering president.Author: GA
User reviews of this film
-
- Joe said...
- Posted on Mar 22 2008 20:52 Astonished to learn from the end credits that this was directed by Clint Eastwood. I found it appalling - almost amusingly so - and assumed it was made-for-TV. Ludicrous holes in the plot, clumsy and cliched direction, three giants of acting rolling out their standard turns. Pure rubbish. I'm normally a fan of Eastwood both as actor and director, so I assumed this film must have been taken away from him, or something odd happened. Clint - surely not!?
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Clint Eastwood, Karen Spiegel
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, Judy Davis, EG Marshall full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 120 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
James Marsh on ‘Man on Wire’
James Marsh tells David Jenkins the amazing story of ‘Man on Wire’ and how he saw the Twin Towers go up – and come down
Gurinder Chada on ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’
Gurinder Chada, the director of Brit hit, 'Bend it Like Beckham' discusses her new film, ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ with Wally Hammond
A holiday guide to movie dystopias
‘Going anywhere nice this summer, sir?’ To celebrate the release of Pixar’s sublime post-apocalyptic robo-romance ‘Wall-E’, Time Out offers a tour guide of the best future worlds in film
Eddie Murphy's Crimes Against Cinema
We all remember the comic highs of 'Beverly Hills Cop' and 'Bowfinger', but Eddie Murphy has been in a fair few stinkers as well. Time Out to presents a handy rundown of his ten darkest cinematic hours...
What do you think?
Post your review now