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, James D. Solomon (story),

Stars:

James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline

1 win & 2 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	...	David Hunter
Alexis Bledel	...	Sarah Weston
Johnny Simmons	...	John Surratt
Toby Kebbell	...	John Wilkes Booth
Jonathan Groff	...	Louis Weichmann
Stephen Root	...	John Lloyd
John Cullum	...	Judge 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 | president | union | 

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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 [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

El conspirador

Filming Locations:

Springfield, 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

Robert Redford always had James McAvoy in mind for the part of Frederic Aiken.

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Goofs

The conspirators are shown being kept in a prison located in a barren area miles from Washington. They actually were held in the Old Capitol Prison in the middle of the city (site of the current Supreme Court building).

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Quotes

Frederick Aiken: Sarah, what are you doing here?
Sarah Weston: I'm trying to understand what you're doing here.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Conan the Barbarian (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Empty"
Performed by Ray Lamontagne
Courtesy of the RCA Records Label
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

History repeat

The Conspiritor uses an event that happened 150 years ago to tell a story which is all too familiar in our time. The backdrop off a shocking, sad event and the following massive public outcry pushes the powers to be to extreme measures, which they stand by because they feel to be forced to do or because they really believe it to be the only right thing.

Robert Redford has been well known for his political views and has displayed them already in the somewhat uneven Lions for Lambs. I like filmmakers who speak out. I can maybe not always agree, but I wholeheartedly admire that in this time of mindless action drivel like Transformers, Drive Angry and The Mechanic there is still hope for without trying to be arrogant: meaningful films. Redford uses the assassination of Lincoln to portray a nation in mourning and sadness. The Civil War was all but over and the policymakers were already planning the next step: the forming of a real Union. The assassination of Lincoln endangered the entire Union. The people wanted revenge and Edwin Stanton (an excellent Kevin Kline) serves it cold. Since her son is nowhere to be found anywhere, he settles for the next thing: his mother Mary Surrat. 'I don't care which one it is, as long as one of them pays the price'. Young Frederick Alken (James McAvoy) has the ungrateful task of defending her.

I don't know much about the Civil War and the period after that, so I can't say how accurate this film is. But what I can say is that it's a masterpiece in creating a period not so distant from our current world. If you replace the assassination of Lincoln with the 9/11-attacks, you have a film that stands firm. It asks relevant questions and holds a mirror right up to our faces. Are seeing clearly? In the sadness and outrage of such a shocking event, do we still see clearly what's going on? Do we still, as a people, have perspective enough to define friend from foe from guilty to innocent? Do our leaders have the capability, strength and courage to make us see or tell us 'no' when we are wrong? Or do policies, political views or elections hold them back and make them just give the public what they want? Mary Surrat, Lincoln, Osama Bin Laden, Afghanistan, Bush, Edward Stanton, Abu Grahib, post Civil War Washington, Guantanomo Bay. History repeats itself over and over again. When will we learn? Guilty or innocent. Is it important? Do we care? I give this film 8 out of 10.