Recount (TV 2008)

A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida.

Director:

Jay Roach

Writer:

Danny Strong

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Bob Balaban, Ed Begley Jr.

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 23 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Ron Klain
Bob Balaban	...	Ben Ginsberg
Ed Begley Jr.	...	David Boies
Laura Dern	...	Katherine Harris
John Hurt	...	Warren Christopher
Denis Leary	...	Michael Whouley
Bruce McGill	...	Mac Stipanovich
Tom Wilkinson	...	James Baker
Bruce Altman	...	Mitchell Berger
Jayne Atkinson	...	Theresa LePore
Gary Basaraba	...	Clay Roberts
Derek Cecil	...	Jeremy Bash
Eve Gordon	...	Monica Klain
Marcia Jean Kurtz	...	Carol Roberts
Mitch Pileggi	...	Bill Daley

Storyline

A chronicle of the weeks after the 2000 U.S. presidential election and the subsequent recounts in Florida.

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Plot Keywords:

election | florida | right wing | government | electoral college | 

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Taglines:

The future of the nation was hanging by a chad.

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Recount: The Story of the 2000 Presidential Election

Filming Locations:

Jacksonville, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Everyman Pictures, HBO Films, Mirage Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Danny Strong made it his goal to interview the real-life counterpart of at least one character appearing in each scene. In most cases, he actually ended up interviewing every character. He achieved his goal in all but one case: because Katherine Harris declined any interviews, the scene where she stands alone looking out over the crowd of protesters outside her office was entirely imagined.

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Goofs

Ben Ginsberg states that Bill Daley's father "stole it for JFK," referring to the belief that Chicago mayor Richard Daley rigged the vote in Illinois in 1960. Kennedy would have still won the electoral college without Illinois.

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Quotes

Ron Klain: The plural of "chad" is "chad"?

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Episode dated 24 May 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

"I Won't Back Down"
Written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne
Performed by Tom Petty
Courtesy of Geffen Records
Under License from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

"I just wanna know who actually won this f***ing election!"

Jay Roach (the "Austin Power" series, "Meet the Parents") doesn't seem the right director for a political-driven movie about one of the most controversial elections ever, but he did a good job in charge of this well-executed HBO production. "Recount" features solid performances all around, particularly Kevin Spacey as Ron Klain (Al Gore's recount point man) and Tom Wilkinson as James Baker (Bush's top recount strategist); Laura Dern seemed to have fun playing the ridiculously clueless (and potentially malevolent) Katherine Harris (Florida's Secretary of State), the woman who stopped the recount. The movie works for being wittily unbiased (Spacey's outburst scene: "You know what's funny? I don't even know if I like Al Gore... I just wanna know who actually won this f***ing election!" is pivotal, and his last conversation with Wilkinson/Baker is also a great point) and informative for those who have short-term memory (or were too young 8 years ago). We all know how it's gonna end, and the movie doesn't have the pretension of answering eternal questions like "Who really won the election and would have Al Gore been a better president?" We'll most likely never know the first, and can just wonder about the second. For better or worse, things would've been different had Bush lost, that's for sure. It might not be a solace, but that's the only truth we have, and the makers of "Recount" seem to be aware of that. 7.5/10.