The Contender (2000)

Senator Laine Hanson is a contender for U.S. Vice President, but information and disinformation about her past surfaces that threatens to derail her confirmation.

Director:

Rod Lurie

Writer:

Rod Lurie

Stars:

Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 20 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gary Oldman	...	Shelly Runyon
Joan Allen	...	Laine Hanson
Jeff Bridges	...	President Jackson Evans
Christian Slater	...	Reginald Webster
Sam Elliott	...	Kermit Newman
William Petersen	...	Jack Hathaway
Saul Rubinek	...	Jerry Tolliver
Philip Baker Hall	...	Oscar Billings
Mike Binder	...	Lewis Hollis
Robin Thomas	...	William Hanson
Mariel Hemingway	...	Cynthia Charlton Lee
Kathryn Morris	...	Paige Willomina
Kristen Shaw	...	Fiona Hathaway
Douglas Urbanski	...	Makerowitz
Noah Fryrear	...	Timmy

Storyline

A political thriller about Laine Hanson, a Senator who is nominated to become Vice President following the death of the previous office holder. During the confirmation process, Laine is the victim of a vicious attack on her personal life in which stories of sexual deviancy are spread. She is torn as to whether she should fight back, or stick to her high principles and refuse to comment on the allegations.

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Plot Keywords:

larry king character | president | vice president | governor | bridge | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes you can assassinate a leader without firing a shot.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong sexual content and language

Details

Country:

USA Germany UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

La conspiración

Filming Locations:

Santa Clarita, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,363,900, 15 October 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$17,872,723

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$22,361,811

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, Cinecontender, Battleground Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jeff Bridges and Gary Oldman only agreed to make the film once they were assured that Joan Allen was in place for the lead role.

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Goofs

When Runyon and Webster are speaking for the first time, they pass a room in which a chandelier that appears to have a black flag (a piece of grip equipment used to block glare from lights) attached to it.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jack Hathaway: Well, I bet you've been getting a lot of Churchills. Probably Mandela. Some DeGaulles. But I'd have to go with Anwar Sadat.

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Crazy Credits

For our daughters

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Connections

Featured in Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.3 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Polonaise Op. 26, No 1
Composed by Frédéric Chopin (as F.Chopin)
Performed by Bruce Donnelly, Pianist

User Reviews

deserving

Great flick, worthy of a 10 and higher rating than IMDb users have given it. Mulitple worthy performances, esp. Jeff Bridges in one of his best among trademark eccentric roles; writing is flawless and no cheesy plot twists geared towards non-intelligent viewers, typical for American viewers. And the final tie-in with the first seen, tough to see coming and proves the writing's prowess. A ++ in every sense, one of the most underrated classics of all time. A plethora of actors here making great performances - Sam Elliot, William Petersen, Christian Slater - who hasn't done much since, nor much in the few years prior, and of course Oldman who I could not recognize for a good portion of the flick - kudos to the producers for leaving the cast till the end, I had the benefit of not reading publicity on the film which kept me guessing and enriched the experience. Again, go see this film and let's give it the ranking it deserves fellow IMDb users!