All the Way (2016)

Lyndon Johnson becomes the President of the United States in the chaotic aftermath of John F. Kennedy's assassination and spends his first year in office fighting to pass the Civil Rights Act.

Director:

Jay Roach

Writers:

Robert Schenkkan (screenplay), Robert Schenkkan (play)

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Anthony Mackie, Melissa Leo

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bryan Cranston	...	Lyndon B. Johnson
Anthony Mackie	...	Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Melissa Leo	...	Lady Bird Johnson
Frank Langella	...	Senator Richard Russell
Bradley Whitford	...	Senator Hubert Humphrey
Stephen Root	...	J. Edgar Hoover
Todd Weeks	...	Walter Jenkins
Ray Wise	...	Senator Everett Dirksen
Ken Jenkins	...	Rep. 'Judge' Smith
Dohn Norwood	...	Ralph Abernathy
Mo McRae	...	Stokely Carmichael
Marque Richardson	...	Bob Moses
Aisha Hinds	...	Fannie Lou Hamer
Joe Morton	...	Roy Wilkins
Eric Pumphrey	...	David Dennis

Storyline

November 22, 1963. President John F. Kennedy has just been assassinated and Vice President Lyndon Johnson is now President. One of his first acts as President is to reaffirm the US government's intention to pass the Civil Rights Act. This Act was drafted while JFK was in office and gives people of all races the same rights, including voting rights, access to education and access to public facilities. However, he faces strong opposition to the bill, especially from within his own party. He will have to use all his political will and cunning to get it through.

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Plot Keywords:

j. edgar hoover character | lyndon b. johnson character | jacqueline kennedy character | dallas texas | president | 

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Taglines:

Politics is war.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

HBO - Character Spot: LBJ HBO - Character Spot: MLK

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 May 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

A végsőkig

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films,Amblin Entertainment,Tale Told Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

132 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Right after Democrat President Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Senator Dick Russell (who is played Frank Langella) walks off into an adjoining room, obviously very upset. He's then seen standing and looking at a painting of President Harry S. Truman, as Johnson comes into the same room after him. The reason this is important is because President Truman unsuccessfully tried passing a major Civil Rights Bill in 1948, and Russell, a segregationist, had a leading role in blocking Truman's bill. Russell had a long track record for defeating civil rights legislation via use of the filibuster. However, he was unsuccessful in his leadership and efforts to defeat Johnson's bill.

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Goofs

Throughout the movie, Bottles of Fresca, one of LBJ's favorite drinks are shown. Fresca did not come to the US market until 1966.

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Quotes

Lyndon B. Johnson: [turning down Dirksen's project] Nope.
Everett Dirksen: No?
Lyndon B. Johnson: No.
Everett Dirksen: No?
Lyndon B. Johnson: We have echo in here?

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Connections

Referenced in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Bryan Cranston/Hailee Steinfeld/OneRepublic (2016)

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Soundtracks

Happy Days Are Here Again
Written by Jack Yellen, Milton Ager
Performed by The Lucky Stars

User Reviews

What's valuable about this

...is that it shines a light on LBJ's very significant accomplishments (civil rights, voting rights, Medicare, Medicaid) which were largely wiped from my generation's collective consciousness. This film ends with Johnson's sweeping election victory in 1964, but by 1968 he became one of the most despised presidents in history for his escalation of the war in Vietnam.

For those of us who lived through this era, this sort of biopic is a hard sell. We remember all too vividly the reality of Johnson, Humphrey, King, and all the rest. It's petty to remark that Dr. King didn't have the movie star looks of Anthony Mackie. Or that Hubert Humphrey was a lot plumper than Bradley Whitford, and his high pitched staccato speaking voice beyond Whitford's reach. Other characters are done either spot on or way off. I suppose no one could capture the essence of Sen. Dirksen without coming dangerously close to Foghorn Leghorn. But Bob McNamara looks right, and the always reliable Stephen Root brings the right manic intensity to his J. Edgar Hoover.

Ultimately it's Bryan Cranston who makes the sell. He's utterly convincing. We feel we're seeing LBJ on screen. Only occasionally does the facade crack to show the actor underneath. But for the most part it's uncanny--if not a little eerie--how accurately he portrays Johnson.

The script is about what you expect for a biopic. The kind of exposition necessary to explain who is who and what is what. It's tiresome for those of us who lived through it, but a necessary evil I suppose for anyone under age fifty. And for those under thirty who seem to have got a college degree without knowing much about anything, this will be a useful primer on the early 60s.