The Contender
Time Out says
President Evans (Bridges) needs to appoint a new VP. Aware of the importance of the women's vote, he favours Democrat Senator Hanson (Allen) over Governor Hathaway (Petersen), recently in the news as a heroic would-be lifesaver and himself preferred by Republican congressman Runyon (Oldman). Investigating Hanson's suitability, Runyon obtains photos suggestive of a sexually scandalous past; but insisting on her right to privacy, she refuses to dignify the charge with a denial, thereby setting the scene for all manner of mud-slinging, murky deals and Machiavellian scheming. In the final reels story and characters start turning somersaults so that Hanson and Evans suddenly end up too good to be true, with Runyon a mere villain. This facile endorsement of Clintonian peccadillos is emphasised by some awful sermonising and an embarrassingly heroic score. Until then, however, the performances by a superb cast are uniformly terrific, and the writing is mostly sharp, witty and admirably sceptical about the manoeuvring on all sides.
Details
Release details
Duration:
126 mins
Cast and crew
Director:
Rod Lurie
Screenwriter:
Rod Lurie
Cast:
Gary Oldman
Joan Allen
Jeff Bridges
Christian Slater
Sam Elliott
William Petersen
Saul Rubinek
Philip Baker Hall
Mariel Hemingway
Joan Allen
Jeff Bridges
Christian Slater
Sam Elliott
William Petersen
Saul Rubinek
Philip Baker Hall
Mariel Hemingway
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