Yesterday, I viewed the newly released movie, The Conspirator. This film, a true story directed by Robert Redford, brings to life the little-known story of the trial of Mary Surratt, played by Robin Wright. Mrs. Surratt was the only woman charged as a co-conspirator in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. The movie focuses on her trial, or more accurately military tribunal, and the various adventures of law that she endures. Mrs. Surratt, whose son John was also wanted for his role in the plot, is defended by a reluctant attorney, played by James McAvoy who can't seem to decide if he believes his client's pleas of innocence.
The film brings to life a story few Americans know about our nation's Civil War. It particularly highlights the great need that was present for healing and the idea that punishing anyone involved in Lincoln's death was part and parcel of that healing. The legal arguments could have been sharper and more dramatic, but the film successfully conveys how justice for one woman was sacrificed for the nation's happiness.
In my opinion, the best acting in the film was done by Kevin Kline, who plays Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Stanton is portrayed, and not in a completely flattering way, as a man willing to risk everything for the nation's healing. He stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the constant pleas of injustice from Surratt's lawyer, claiming defiantly that, unless the nation heals, there will be no justice for anyone, in effect using Mary Surratt as a sacrificial lamb, knowing that she is not being afforded proper justice. His character fully brings to bear the premise of the movie, a provoking exposé on if and when the system should be sidestepped, ostensibly for the greater good. Anyone who studies the Civil War at least slightly in-depth knows about Lincoln's overstepping, shall we say, of the constitutional rights of some people during the war. The Conspirator illuminates that the fluidity with which the Constitution's mandates were interpreted during and right after the war did not stop with Lincoln's denial of habeas corpus.
Overall, a great movie for all, including Civil War buffs, to see, but do not expect the kind of legal fireworks present in other law dramas, such as A Time to Kill or A Few Good Men.
The film brings to life a story few Americans know about our nation's Civil War. It particularly highlights the great need that was present for healing and the idea that punishing anyone involved in Lincoln's death was part and parcel of that healing. The legal arguments could have been sharper and more dramatic, but the film successfully conveys how justice for one woman was sacrificed for the nation's happiness.
In my opinion, the best acting in the film was done by Kevin Kline, who plays Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Stanton is portrayed, and not in a completely flattering way, as a man willing to risk everything for the nation's healing. He stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the constant pleas of injustice from Surratt's lawyer, claiming defiantly that, unless the nation heals, there will be no justice for anyone, in effect using Mary Surratt as a sacrificial lamb, knowing that she is not being afforded proper justice. His character fully brings to bear the premise of the movie, a provoking exposé on if and when the system should be sidestepped, ostensibly for the greater good. Anyone who studies the Civil War at least slightly in-depth knows about Lincoln's overstepping, shall we say, of the constitutional rights of some people during the war. The Conspirator illuminates that the fluidity with which the Constitution's mandates were interpreted during and right after the war did not stop with Lincoln's denial of habeas corpus.
Overall, a great movie for all, including Civil War buffs, to see, but do not expect the kind of legal fireworks present in other law dramas, such as A Time to Kill or A Few Good Men.
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