The Conspirator (2010)

Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.

Director:

Robert Redford

Writers:

James D. Solomon (as James Solomon), James D. Solomon (story) (as James Solomon)

Stars:

Robin Wright, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James McAvoy	...	Frederick Aiken
Robin Wright	...	Mary Surratt
Kevin Kline	...	Edwin Stanton
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Anna Surratt
Tom Wilkinson	...	Reverdy Johnson
Justin Long	...	Nicholas Baker
Danny Huston	...	Joseph Holt
James Badge Dale	...	William Hamilton
Colm Meaney	...	General Hunter
Alexis Bledel	...	Sarah Weston
Johnny Simmons	...	John Surratt
Toby Kebbell	...	John Wilkes Booth
Jonathan Groff	...	Louis Weichmann
Stephen Root	...	John Lloyd
John Cullum	...	Justice Wylie

Storyline

In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, the Vice-President, and the Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt, 42, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken, a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. As the trial unfolds, Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | truth | trial | john wilkes booth | lincoln assassination | 

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Taglines:

One bullet killed the President. But not one man.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violent content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Lincoln Verschwörung

Filming Locations:

Espy House, 421 Abercorn Street, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$3,509,048 (USA) (15 April 2011)

Gross:

$11,538,204 (USA) (9 September 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Film Company, The, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Surratt boarding house still stands in the Chinatown neighborhood of Washington, DC.

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Goofs

Anne tells Aiken her brother's room is upstairs on the left. He goes upstairs and makes a right into the room. From the camera angle it is on the left, but from Aiken's perspective it is on the right.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frederick Aiken: Two men standing at the Pearly Gates. The first man says, "How'd you die?" Second says, "I froze to death. How 'bout you?" And the, uh, second man says, "Well, I thought my... my wife was being unfaithful to me, so I ran all the way home. And burst into the bedroom. She just..."

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Connections

Referenced in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.14 (2011)

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Soundtracks

All Hail to Our Triumph
Words and Music by Harry Buckline
Arranged and Performed by Curtis Roush

User Reviews

An eye-opening film, with an exemplary ensemble cast

Robert Redford has assembled an impressively strong cast to bring to the screen a very important and poignant story. Watching this film a couple of weeks ago, I did not know what to expect. What I got was a great film about the trials of the people that were involved behind the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Robin Wright delivers one of the best performances of her career, in a role that seemed tailor-made for her.

Redford follows up a politically charged film (Lions for Lambs) with a historically charged film, that definitely is not light on the politics. However, he does succeed at presenting the unknown story of a loving mother and clearly stating the events that followed Lincoln's assassination.

The film transported me back in time. Beautifully shot, supported by amazing art direction and costumes, and driven by James McAvoy strong performance, "The Conspirator" stands as a movie for the times, that will definitely be revisited for years to come.