 | A Stalemate of Conscience
rating: 5
Imagine a film where dialogue was so taut and so well spoken that it became the central conveyor of the plot. That sort of film lives mostly in yesteryear, and it lives magnificently in "Advise and Consent", a riveting examination of the ongoing struggle between the basest instincts and noblest ideals of our elected officials.
The plot line is keyed to the nomination for high public office of a former University of Chicago professor accused of consorting with radicals. (Coming off the 2008 U.S. presidential election, does this sound familiar?) The nomination sets off the usual legislative maneuvering and partisan gamesmanship, convincingly brought to life by great ensemble acting and peppered with wonderful performances by Charles Laughton, Walter Pidgeon, George Grizzard and Burgess Meredith. (The establishing shot of Laughton bedecked in South Carolina finery and stepping off a circa-1960 DC streetcar is perfect, and Meredith puts in a great smoky-voiced, conspiratorial turn as a flunky accuser.) For political junkies, the black-and-white shots of the Capitol, National Mall and then-Washington National Airport are gems, and the real-life, high-toned parlance used by members of the Senate "club" and written into the script provides delicious irony to the intrigue being practiced by the same, ostensibly high-minded gatekeepers of democracy.
"Advise and Consent" offers for consideration two public figures with secrets (Don Murray, as a Senator, and Henry Fonda, as nominee for Secretary of State) and through them and their supporters asks several Big Questions: When should an individual make a personal sacrifice for the public good? At what point should elected officials put aside party for principle? How can public dialogue remain civil when opposing forces are dug in for the long fight?
In the end, it's a stalemate of conscience that resolves the entire affair, leaving it up to the next wave of leadership (the Vice President from Delaware, another 2008 coincidence) to try - yet again - to marry democracy, principle and the political process in a more ethical manner.
A well-honed screenplay, superb acting and great ideas with a capital "I" continue to make "Advise and Consent" one of my favorites.
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Advise and Consent
rating: 4
I've always loved this movie and even though I had a colorized version of it I wanted to own a wide screen and black and white original as it was filmed.
Besides all these I'm collcting all Gene Tierney's movies that I can find and there are not too many that I don't have.
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Worth Seeing More Than Once
rating: 4
This is politics as it used to be, when the Senate was composed mostly of people of good will, with differing ideas, and the meanspirited politics of destruction, so typical today, was unusual. Not that the story isn't controversial and interesting, but the backdrop is that of a Senate one could be proud of.
There is the justly infamous, stupidly stereotypical, "gay bar scene" which is hugely hard to take. But otherwise the acting is superb and the characters fascinating and very real. This is a DVD to own, not rent.
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Great political movie that hasn't dated one iota...spoilers...
rating: 5
This is one of Preminger's masterpieces, a film that, surprisingly, has dated very little. It takes place during the Cold War, and while that may have subsided (at least for now), the talk of "loyal to the country" and talk of Communism hasn't gone away from the American political vocabulary. The film is one of the most fascinating, meticulous political thrillers ever made, and it's also a great suspense movie as well. It's also refreshing to see (and hear) Senators be somewhat civil to each other and not talk in soundbites but complete sentences. The film depicts Washington as a land of deals, backroom jousting, pride, anger, ambition, and blackmail. It's not an idealised portrait, but a starkly realistic one that is still true today.
The film is brilliantly handled by Otto Preminger. Preminger has a unique visual style all his own. His use of widescreen and framing is, once again, perfect here, shooting in very long takes, allowing the actors to really breathe life into their characters. All of the performances here are exemplary, with Charles Laughton and Walter Pidgeon getting top honors. Many criticise Preminger for being a bad director (but a good producer). I think this is nonsense. He solicits great performances in every film he's made. Even though Henry Fonda receives top billing, he's hardly in the film at all, but his confirmation hearing for Secretary of State is the backbone of this film.
There is also a blackmail plot in this film where the Senator in charge of the subcommitte, Brig Anderson (played with great understatement by Don Murray), is being blackmailed by another Senator eager to get the nomination of Fonda through the Senate. It turns out that Anderson had a homosexual affair many years ago, and there's photos and letters. This was pretty shocking for 1962. Preminger films the events up to the revelation extremely well, creating brilliant tension. The scene in the gay bar (this was the first film ever to depict a gay bar in Hollywood history) is really powerful when you discover Anderson's secret. Now, some would argue that politicians wouldn't have to worry about being gay. Wrong. Even in the most liberal places, there are very few openly gay politicians. Despite the gay community making many strides towards acceptance and tolerance, it's not all there yet, and it would be disasterous for a politician to come out, even today. So this scene hasn't really dated. Some have criticised the depiction of gays in the film. I've seen far more offensive portrayals of homosexuals in modern comedies than this film does. Regardless, the scene here is startling effective, and due to this blackmail, Anderson kills himself. Preminger never shows the suicide (Anderson cuts his throat), but we learn of it when a Senate guard calls Peter Lawford during a card game. The president also dies during the film, but we never see that either.
The performances here are superb, with special mention going to Charles Laughton as a wily Southern Senator, Walter Pidgeon as the Majority Leader, Don Murray as the troubled Senator, Burgess Meredith as a man who is used by Laughton to get at Fonda (and is subsequently discredited by Fonda), and Lew Ayres as the underestimated vice president. Not much has changed in Washington since this film was made. While there are more ways for Senators to communicate, they still deal with things the same way. The human factor always figures into things, and Advise and Consent is one of the most complex, riveting political films ever made.
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OTTO PREMINGER, OPUS 28
rating: 5
***** 1962. Based on Allen Drury's Advise and Consent, ADVISE & CONSENT was produced and directed by Otto Preminger. Washington D.C. When the President decides to choose Robert A. Leffingwell as new Secretary of State, he knows very well that it won't be easy to get the votes of the senators of his own party. Furthermore, during the hearings, Leffingwell is accused to have patronized a communist cell when in Chicago. After The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell, Saint Joan [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - France ] and Anatomy of a Murder, this is the fourth Preminger film dealing with themes related to Justice or rather with the way men are implementing the Law. How fascinating to observe the way Otto Preminger drains off the screen every scene that doesn't have directly anything to do with the power of words, hence just think of the death of the President handled literally offscreen. Charles Laughton is brilliant as usual. Masterpiece.
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