Le persécuteur

"Citizen Cohn" (1992): James Woods plays intense characters. This may be his best. Roy Cohn (Woods) was the pit bull dog of a lawyer for Senator Joe McCarthy during the Commie Hunts of the 1950's and beyond. We follow Cohn's life – his self-righteous, contradictory, opportunistic, sleazy life – from childhood to death bed. Structured in flashbacks and flashforwards, we see his twisted points of view along with his victims and lackies. This is one of the best character studies ever made. It's disgusting, and true. Also starring Joe Don Baker, Joseph Bologna, Ed Flanders, Frederick Forrest, Lee Grant, and others. If you like Woods' job in this one (and you will), see "Another Day in Paradise" or the classic "The Onion Field".

This film is an amazing study in self-loathing. As Cohn himself puts it in the movie, he was "a Jew who persecuted Jews; a gay who persecuted gays." Always trying to prove something to himself or his parents, he recklessly smashed lives and helped create the paranoia of the McCarthy era.

In the midst of the tragedy there are some very funny moments such as when Cohn eats off the plates of everyone he is dining with including Cardinal Spellman of New York. He was indulged and self-indulgent.

There is a Shakespearian quality to some of the scenes in which Cohn speaks to himself or to the ghosts of people he hurt. This is a disturbing look at human ego as well as a bitterly funny movie.

Saw it last night on HBO. While it's true that Cohn was gay that was a minor part of what the movie was about. I would say the film shows what happens when radical right wing idiots get too much power and start a crusade against everyone who disagrees with them.

Woods is excellent in this film playing a total a-hole so convincingly that as a viewer you want him to get run over by a bus about 10 minutes into the movie. When an actor can make you intensely emotional, whether positively or negatively, towards a character he portrays that is great acting.

It's a good movie to watch in these times of extreme right wing conservatives dominating the American government, the airwaves and book sales. The rhetoric and the despicable way of going about achieving their misguided goals reminds me very much of what I see today. They harass people, don't let them talk when they try to defend themselves, use intimidation tactics, etc. These are truly disgusting, disturbed, completely misguided people with absolutely no sense of what's right and wrong.

A great favorite of many conservatives, Ann Coulter, not only defended McCarthy in her latest book, but with her views could be a proud member of his staff. People need to see this film to realize how dangerous people like Coulter are. I also wonder what's up hers? I'm sure she has an interesting past and upbringing. Maybe it's time someone looked into it.

There are many conservative pundits who are simply stupid, ignorant and misinformed people. Coulter is not dumb and she knows exactly what she's doing just like Cohn. These are the ones we have to watch out for.

This film shows why.

That rarest of birds, a TV-movie that's every bit as engrossing as any theatrical film. James Woods in a personal-best turn as ruthless McCarthy-era prosecutor Roy Cohn. If you didn't see it on HBO, get over having to pay for something you could have seen for free, and just rent it--you won't be sorry

In the 50's, the ambitious and unscrupulous Jewish prosecutor Roy Marcus Cohn (James Woods) convinces Senator Joseph McCarthy (Joe Don Baker) to be his Chief Counselor in his hunting against communists. The arrogant Cohn destroys careers and lives and becomes a Jew hunting Jews and a gay hunting gays. In 1986, he dies of AIDS in a hospital in New York.

"Citizen Cohn" tells the rise and fall of an unscrupulous, arrogant and despicable Roy Marcus Cohn through flashbacks. I saw this film in the early 90's and the performance of James Woods is outstanding. This is the third time that I see this magnificent movie. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Cidadão Cohn" ("Citizen Cohn")