The Best
Game Change (2012):
In the last couple of years, HBO has become a force in important cinema. Released in March 2012, this film seems to have no greater motive than to show the scrutiny under which the media has put politicians. The film chronicles John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate, and as one would expect, Alaska’s sweetheart is not given gentle treatment. The film can be very hard to watch at times, and as the viewer you do empathize with Palin. Naturally, as it got her attention, Palin spoke out against the film and called it inaccurate despite the fact that many of the campaign advisors praised the film for accurately condensing several weeks into two hours, one even saying that it made him “squirm.” Despite Palin’s squawking, the film, while it shows all of her follies, does portray her in a sympathetic light. Viewers spend most of the film empathizing with Palin as a simple woman who was not at all ready for the media firestorm that followed her. The film never forgets the human element of its characters and for that, it makes the list.
All the King’s Men (1949):
No other film, aside from its horrid 2006 remake, has presented its viewers with such a stark view of the corrupting nature of power. Stark is a great word to describe it, as that is the last name of its political focus, Willie Stark. The viewer meets Willie Stark as he is deemed “the last honest man in politics” and refuses to quit despite having lost many elections. The viewer witnesses this once-honest man’s character deteriorate into corruption, as Stark begins to make deals all around town; at one point Stark considers a father’s loss of his daughter a matter of money. The film demonstrates the arc of an honest man who has never known power, winning three Oscars, including Best Picture. This film is a must-watch.
Inherit the Wind (1960):
One of the greatest actors of his time, Frederic March stars in this fictionalized adaptation of the Scope’s Trial. The film also includes performances by Spencer Tracy, who plays Scopes’ defense attorney and Gene Kelly, who plays a reporter covering the case. The film is not entirely about politics, but it portrays an exciting conflict between the religiously conservative versus the Darwinists. It also demonstrates the effect that landmark court cases have on communities as the town splits and protests over the court proceedings. Two of the greatest actors of all time face off as the prosecution and defense attorneys, and the tension their arguments create is palpable. It will make you cringe, but it’s definitely worth a watch.
The Candidate (1972):
In today’s age, the pressures and anxieties of running for office have become increasingly obvious, but in this now forty-year-old film starring Robert Redford we see that it has been this way for quite some time. Perhaps it is not to the extreme of today’s press, but the film shows the humanity behind its candidate, Senator Bill McKay who is running for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Surprisingly, it is a very funny film as well as a true underdog story, given that McKay is told the election is unwinnable. Robert Redford is uncharacteristically funny in this film, as he is given free reign to run his own campaign. Overall, this film is definitely worth a viewing, especially as our own election approaches.
All the President’s Men (1976):
For a two-and-a-half hour film about journalism, this film could not be more taut or rife with tension. Despite being over thirty years old, the film’s cast is widely recognizable, with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford playing Washington Post journalists–Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward–the very journalists who cracked the Watergate case. The story is perfectly paced through every phone call and house visit these two guys make, spliced with brilliant pieces of dialogue; at one point Woodward says, “They offered that he was innocent, but nobody asked if he was guilty.” The dramatic irony of the film is in many ways what is most enjoyable. The viewer knows that Nixon is behind all of it, but watches these two journalists ask so many questions, while never jumping to the inevitable conclusion. The film demonstrates the power of journalism, but also the courage behind it. At one point their boss, played by Jason Robards, warns them, “You guys are about to write a story that says the former Attorney General, the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in this country, is a crook! Just be sure you’re right.” Dialogue like this makes the film truly affecting, as it shows our two protagonists are willing to put everything on the line for their story. The movie is an educational experience as well as a tense thriller.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939):
This film will make you smile. Directed by Frank Capra eight years before he made It’s a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is perhaps the greatest film about American politics. To put “great” into perspective, that classification also includes the scope of the film. On many levels, it is purely an educational film, but it never really feels like it is. The plot surrounds Jefferson Smith, played by James Stewart, who is handpicked to be a Junior Senator. Uneducated on political matters, but with a deep fondness for history, Senator Taylor makes his trip to Washington. Being a boy from the Midwest, he knows nothing about the Senate, and consequently the characters around him have to fill him in on how everything works, thus making it a very educational film. The conflict arises when Jeffrey Taylor’s idealized view of American politics meets the reality of the Senate. James Stewart is at his best in this classic, at one point harping, “Always try to see the life around you as though you had just come out of a tunnel.” Although very controversial upon its release, the Library of Congress added the film to the United States National Film Registry, for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” in the late 1980s.
The Worst
The Campaign (2012):
Making a political film has never been easy. Political films rarely fill seats unless they are provocative or very well made, which is why the moneymen of the film industry rarely green light them. Having said that, this summer’s big smash comedy The Campaign was one of the worst political films ever made. Sadly enough, it garnered positive reviews from many critics, but it did nothing intelligent or satirical with its script or execution. Its plot did not even really make sense and was just a half-baked mess of a movie. The two leads of the film, Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell, are better actors than this movie would suggest, and their comedic wits do shine at some moments, but on the whole, the jokes consist of topics your drunken uncle could ruin Thanksgiving dinner with. The filmmakers had such an opportunity to make a great satirical point here and they completely squandered it. The film’s plot is a carbon copy of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington except with no real plausible stakes or educational value.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004):
It is pretty awesome that a filmmaker could make a two-hour film that just hates on the President of the United States while he was still in office. Having said that, this film is just too much of a partisan piece to really make a stand. It’s what you would expect if you were to hear that Michael Moore was making a film about George W. Bush. It’s told with his typical humor, but the film has two major flaws: one being that it serves more or less as a recap of past events, and the second being that it takes a side and never really acknowledges the existence of another. Michael Moore simply takes everything that Bush did and puts it through that gadfly lens of his, which, while entertaining, gets kind of tiring after awhile. This film is not necessarily bad, but critics and viewers gravely overrated it as it made a smash at the box-office, returning over $222 million to its filmmakers on a budget of only $6 million, making it the highest grossing documentary of all time. The film shocked viewers, but there is an overall sloppiness to it, considering the great disputes over the accuracy of its claims. This film is undoubtedly well-made, knowing its niche and pulling in a large audience. It is a film with a definite purpose and it pulls it off, but in today’s age of fact-checkers and political absolutists, it would have generated much more controversy than it did upon the film’s release before Internet media became the social advent it is today. It may have struck viewers given the social context of its election-year release, but eight years removed it leaves a lot to be desired.
