The Contender
Director: Rod Lurie.
Starring: Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater.
I walked into the Palace flustered because it was already thirty-plus degrees at nine-thirty in the morning and I was three minutes late. I didn’t know what to expect: the scheduled movie had changed and there were no production notes on hand. When I realised the movie had an American political flavour, I was flustered and skeptical. To my surprise, The Contender turned out to be the highlight of my day.
The tale is a timely one, focusing on scandal and courtroom proceedings in the White House. You may ask ‘Haven’t we seen enough?’ following on the heels of Bill Clinton’s legacy of sexual indiscretion, but I suggest giving the topic a second viewing.
Rod Lurie directs one of the finest cast of actors I’ve seen in a long time. The understated but compelling Joan Allen was nominated for an Oscar as best actress for the movie. Her frustrated composure under extraordinary circumstances is both delicate and forceful at once. Jeff Bridges received a similar nomination for best supporting actor as his role as the President of the United States. His food-fixation gives an everyday-guy quality to his title, as does his compassion and admiration for his Vice-President-elect’s integrity. Gary Oldman usually wins favour with his many diverse roles and this is no exception. His control of the Chairman of the judiciary hearings is unbreakable with a careful mixture of deserved respectability and utter ruthlessness. We love to hate him and yet somehow feel sympathy.
The story begins with an act of heroism, which we think is to be the focus of the central plot. It then winds itself into a tangle of dirty tricks, assumptions and lies. The parties are out to get each other and it looks as though no one is going to win. Lurie’s development of action leads to the knowledge that no one is who we think they are so you have to wonder who, in this fight for justice under the guise of democracy, is trustworthy. Very dramatic indeed.
And it is the pure drama of The Contender that is so compelling. The pace is never too much or too little (though occasionally some of the monologues are). And where I would usually cringe as the music swells in typical Hollywood style, it somehow seems to be unexpected and acceptable and perhaps even welcomed. It’s a political movie in more ways than one — certainly we’re meant to learn something — but it’s a fine example of what Hollywood can produce if the right people get together and do it with style.
Heather Johnson
