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From:Clint Eastwood , Gene Hackman , Ed Harris , Laura Linney , Scott Glenn , Absolute , Warner Home Video ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#5141 |
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1 of 1 customers found the following review helpful:
 Kind of Cheesy, 2007-10-02
I usually love Clint Eastwood movies and was looking forward to watching this one, which has such a stellar cast. But Absolute Power is not up to Eastwood's usual standards. The writing is kind of cheesy, the end is both predictable and absurd (which is not an easy feat) and all the fine actors in it can't save such bad material.
2 of 2 customers found the following review helpful:
 A fine, intelligent thriller, with thanks to Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Judy Davis, among others, 2007-06-11
So the president of the United States may not be the nicest guy in the world. Well, we've known that can be the case since 1789. So the idea of our presidents engaging in sexual shenanigans may be as uncomfortable as realizing our parents do it. Well, we've learned more than we want to know over the last few decades about how our presidents spend their time when they aren't bringing peace to the world and ensuring our domestic tranquility. One of the reasons Absolute Power is such a fine thriller is that it involves the dirty doings -- murder, cover-ups, self-serving righteousness -- of those in high elected office.
Absolute Power is the story of Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood), "one of the great thieves of the world," who breaks into the mansion of Walter Sullivan (E. G. Marshall), a very rich, very powerful and very old political kingmaker. But then Luther hears voices and has to hide in a bedroom vault with a one-way mirror. He has to watch the rough sex between the rich man's much younger wife and a friend of hers. When things get out of hand and she angrily starts to do some stabbing, suddenly two very competent men break in and shoot the lady dead. They're followed by an aggressively competent woman who proceeds to clean things up and spin a story that a thief must have killed the lady of the house. Luther comes to realize that the two shooters are Secret Service agents, the competent woman is Gloria Russell (Judy Davis), the president's chief of staff, and the man is Allen Richmond (Gene Hackman), the unscrupulous president of the U. S. Luther is spotted and barely escapes but Russell and the two agents manage to identify him. They also learn he has an estranged daughter, Kate Whitney (Laura Linney), a young prosecutor. At first Luther decides to take his accrued wealth and flee the country. Then he sees a press conference on television where Richmond uses the grief-stricken Sullivan, who made him president, in a smarmy soap opera of shared grief. Luther changes his mind and decides to see that justice is done. Luther's brand of justice is resourceful, clever and dangerous. All the while he has to deal with an honest homicide cop, Seth Frank (Ed Harris), who is on his trail, an assassin hired by Sullivan to kill whoever killed his wife, and the machinations of Gloria Russell, determined to shield Richmond, aided by the two Secret Service agents. One, Bill Burton (Scott Glenn), has a conscience. The other, Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert), does not.
Eastwood and writer William Goldman have, in my opinion, concocted a fine, intelligent thriller that plays off Eastman's age ("Go down a rope in the middle of the night? If I could do that, I'd be the star of my AARP meetings."), gives us some fine set pieces (the break-in, killing and cleaning up; the attempt on Luther's life by two separate assassins when he meets his daughter; and the wonderfully played dance at a White House ball between Hackman and Davis) and which is told at a more-or-less human-sized scale. While I think perhaps too much time was spent on the relationship between Luther and his daughter, it's this relationship, well acted between Eastman and Linney, that helps raise the movie beyond just another thriller.
Three things make this movie so good. First, there are two sets of intriguing relationships, one of which is poignant and tender, the other almost grotesquely amusing. The Eastwood-Linney situation is the first. And then there is the Allen Richmond-Gloria Russell pas de dieux. He depends on her but we know he'd toss her out in a minute if he needed to. She depends on him, probably loves him, and would gut her mother to protect him and her power ("I'll take care of everything. Like I always do."). It's fascinating, especially as played out by Hackman and Davis. Their White House waltz at the ball, where Davis is coy because she thinks the necklace she received was a present from Richmond, and Richmond knows, and tells her, that the necklace was the one worn by Sullivan's wife and that it had to have come from Luther Whitney, is a classic lesson in acting. The two of them play every emotion you can think of, all the while dancing in close-up and smiling for the admiring guests. The scene is a tour de force and immensely funny.
Second, this movie is so good for what Eastwood and Goldman don't do. This is a thriller without explosions, without wild car chases and without star posing. We're left to focus on the story, on the intelligence of the dialogue, on the cleverness of the situation. As Roger Ebert said, "it's a thriller not upstaged by its thrills."
Third, and most importantly, is the casting. The impact of the movie primarily rests with Eastwood, Hackman and Davis. Each one has shown many times that they can carry a movie by themselves. Judy Davis is the least known and has been stuck in character roles for years. However, just watch her in My Brilliant Career, A Passage to India or Children of the Revolution to see an actress who can dominate a movie. The second tier, made up of Ed Harris, E. G. Marshall, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn and Dennis Haysbert are just as effective. These are experienced actors who work well together and who know how to deliver their stuff. E. G. Marshall at 83 gives a performance that combines great sadness with an implacable sense of retribution. And Scott Glenn, such a good actor who has slowly slipped down to smaller, secondary roles, gives a performance of such regret it nearly distracts us from the story.
The movie is in real need of a better release. The picture is consistently too soft and frequently too dark in the night-time and interior scenes. There are a couple of inconsequential extras.
2 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
Absolute Power, 2007-05-07
Clint Eastwood and a very good story plus a great cast makes for a keeper for collectors.
3 of 6 customers found the following review helpful:
READ THE BOOK, FORGET THE FILM., 2006-12-11
I read the brilliant book first (always a good idea) and got the film expecting a similar reaction. If you want a standard Clint Eastwood thriller with a top notch crew then this is your standard fare. It's all fairly nice and staid and rather slushy at the end but if you want a version of the book DON'T BOTHER it is a virtual rewrite, leaving out the main character Jack, his daughter's ex-boyfriend completely. The basis of the book was built around him defending Luther and finding out the truth. In the book the daughter hates Luther, in this she just vaguely dislikes him. Don't want to give to much away but Luther isn't even in the end of the book and the way he manipulates the authorities is non-exsistant. See what i mean? they should of said 'based on the book...but only a little'.
2 of 3 customers found the following review helpful:
An interesting suspense thriller!, 2006-03-27
This is an interesting film with Clint playing a cat burglar who likes to paint as a hobby. He is estranged from his daughter due to his criminal actiity but longs to be involved in her life.
Clint plays this part with dignity and grace. The story is well written and interestingly filmed. It was nice to see Gene Hackman as part of the supporting cast.
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