By Dave Montalbano
www.AdventuresofCinemaDave
After being involved with box office duds recently, Redford directs his first historical motion picture about the assassination of America’s first Republican president. The Conspirator opens with the murder of President Lincoln by John Wilkes Boothe. After a national manhunt, Boothe was shot in a burning barn and five associates were arrested and put to trial in a military tribunal. This is the most exciting and energetic portion of the movie.
When the court is in session (in candlelight — in a world without electricity) the pace of The Conspirator slows down and becomes a courtroom drama. Union Civil War Veteran Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) becomes the public defender of Mary Suratt (Robin Wright), proprietor of the bed & breakfast where the assassination was planned. Surratt invokes the 5th Amendment and doesn’t speak to defend herself. While her actions are seen as a presumption of guilt, her motives are maternal; Surratt wants to protect
her daughter Anna (Evan Rachel Wood) and son, John (Johnny Simmons), a young man implicated because he was friends with John Wilkes Booth.
As Mary Surratt, Robin Wright will be considered for an Oscar. Her stoic actions are only betrayed by the windows of the soul, her eyes. With his work in Atonement and the new X-Men movie being released this summer, James McAvoy will become a household name in the movies. As Aiken, McAvoy is the film’s narrator and masters a transitional performance. Enjoying the wigs, beards and 19th Century clothing, veteran actors Kevin Kline (as Edwin Staton) and Tom Willinkson (as Reverdy Johnson), sink their teeth into character roles. The new generation of ensemble players, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel and Justin Long acquit themselves in this fine, but dark, drama.
• On a lighter note, Bill Cunningham New York is a cheerful documentary about a New York fashion photographer. Cunningham contributes to the Sunday edition of the New York Times by photographing strangers on the street and noting the clothes they are wearing. From his randomly taken photographs, Cunningham and his assistants review patterns, trends and fads while fashion moguls like Anna Wintour, Annette De La Renta and Mrs. Vincent Astor are interviewed.
• And finally, the last local festival of the season –Downtown Boca Film Festival—held in Boca and Delray, concludes this weekend. For tickets and information, visit www.dbff.us.
