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:

abraham lincoln character | john wilkes booth character | mary todd lincoln character | assassination | assassin | 

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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:

The Conspirator

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,506,602, 17 April 2011

Gross USA:

$11,538,204

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$15,625,544

Company Credits

Production Co:

The American Film Company, Wildwood Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Toby Kebbell plays John Wilkes Booth, the man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln. He previously played Pausanias, who assassinated Philip II of Macedon (father of Alexander the Great) in Alexander (2004).

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Goofs

During the scene when the conspirators are being hung at the gallows, the camera pans over twice to the photographer positioned on a carriage platform. Only one photographer was allowed in to photograph the hanging: Alexander Gardner. However, he was not on the ground when he took the picture. He set up his camera in an old shoe factory, at a second-story window overlooking the gallows. ("Shooting Lincoln and the Race to Photograph the Story of the Century", Nicholas J.C. Pistor, author)

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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

Featured in The Conspirator: Mary Surratt and the Plot to Kill Lincoln (2011)

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Soundtracks

The Children of the Battlefield
Words and Music by James G. Clark
Arranged by Kelli Horton
Performed by Kelli Horton and Justin Long

User Reviews

a terrific film with a small weakness

I was reluctant to see "The Conspirator" because it has racked up a critical consensus of a kind I dislike: the film is said to be cold-hearted, and to make political points with a heavy hand. Neither of these, happily, turns out to be true. The film is utterly impassioned, and its interest for today is nicely noted without being too underlined. Nearly every element one wants in a great film is there: visual beauty, strong acting, fine pacing, stirring and well-made music. But there is a flaw. The creators have taken their creation too seriously. There's not a shaft of levity or humor anywhere. A requirement for great art is thereby missed. It doesn't matter how somber the subject is supposed to be. King Lear has his fool; even Wagner's ultra-dark Ring cycle has its powerful currents of humor. It's got to be there; otherwise, the whole organism suffers. I think this is the weakness to which reviewers have responded, even if none of them has precisely named it. On that ground, the film falls short of greatness; but in every other respect it approaches or achieves greatness. "The Conspirator" is hugely recommendable and I will certainly see it again.