Opinion

The Contender

For only the third time in history, a Vice President of the United States of America has to be appointed in mid-term, and the President (Bridges) has decided that his appointee of choice is Senator Laine Hanson (Allen), who happens to be a pro-choice, pro-gun control, atheist woman. It's this last that seems to provide the easiest target for the Congressional confirmation committee chaired by Runyon (Oldman), whose enquiries into apparent past sexual misconduct are fuelled as much by his friendship with the displaced likeliest contender for the job as by any real argument with Hanson or her politics. His own desire to damage the closing years of the President's term because of their own past history figures too. The film follows the course of the confirmation hearings and the maneuverings behind the scenes as both sides attempt to tip the balance while Hanson remains firm in her refusal to answer questions about her personal history on the grounds of her conviction that the committee has no right to be asking.

I came to this film with high expectations, based on its various positive reviews and the award nominations (including the Oscar) Allen has received for her performance, and generally these expectations were met. The performances, without exception, are outstanding, with Sam Elliot's turn as the White House Chief of Staff little short of astonishing in its intensity, while Oldman adds to his ever-increasing resume of sleazy characters. Allen's performance, it probably goes without saying, is impressive from first to last. Director and screenwriter Lurie has realised his story with a fine eye for the shots and an ability with dialogue that bode well for his future work. If I have a criticism, it's with his plotting - the hearing scenes are sometimes overlong, and there's a sub-plot involving an FBI investigation whose outcome is screamingly obvious from its introductory scene. Still, for all that, the film's various elements come together in the end in such a stirring manner that even one as cynical about American politics as I emerged impressed.

Overall - nine out of ten.