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A door-to-door salesman, Willie Stark (Sean Penn), is a straightforward man with decent morals and a commitment to the common weal. Such a winning profile is quickly spotted by political hucksters who disingenuously persuade him to stand for Louisiana State Governor simply to split the opposition vote. Stark gets wise to this attempt to use him as a pawn and, in a dramatic turnabout, throws away a prepared speech and appeals to the people, declaring himself a 'hick among the hicks' who will stand up for the commoners' needs. Once made Governor, he does indeed set about popular reform programs, also hiring reporter Jack Burden (Jude Law) to dig dirt on anyone who stands in his way. Jack, unfortunately, comes from the wrong (well-heeled) side of town and soon finds his loyalties torn when Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) refuses to publicly support Stark. Jack also has some unpleasant surprises in store as he is reunited with childhood friends Adam Stanton, a determinedly unmaterialistic character who doesn't want to be in anyone's pocket, and his luscious sister Anne (Kate Winslet), both of whom are tangling in different ways with Willie Stark before very long. This is a towering story set in the deep south, amid sweltering ideals and where goodness only comes out of the dirt - which means that everyone has some dirt on them somewhere.

All the King's Men aims at being quality, heavyweight cinema with outstanding performances. Penn sets a standard, delivering one of his most moving demonstrations of carefully chiselled acting skills.

Having given All the King's Men such accolades, you might think I'd be struggling to find fault with it but, although many of the elements might individually be worthy of an Oscar, my overall impression was that the film showcases a lot of remarkable talent rather than putting it to its finest use.

This is the second time Robert Penn Warren's book has been made into a major movie, yet we might wonder if much of the subtle analysis that space allows an author is being woefully denied filmmakers because of time restraints. Although the movie is to be congratulated for not using a trowel to lay on contemporary analogies about political power, corruption and oil, some character development in other morally ambiguous areas would not have gone amiss. Did power finally corrupt Willie Stark, and how far did he go in using criminals to further his beneficial public works? Penn creates a powerful figure, but the story, for all its tension, remains sadly predictable. The title is never clearly explained in the film, although it can elsewhere be attributed to a motto used by real life Governor Huey Long (on whom the story is arguably based): "Every Man a King" - which was part of a Share Our Wealth program of heavy taxation for wealthy individuals and corporations. In 1929, Long had called a special session of the legislature so as to enact a five-cent per barrel 'occupational license tax' on production of refined oil, in order to help fund social programs. What would originally have been complex trade-offs between a rich elite and an impoverished, post- Great Depression lower class, is in the movie reduced to high-sounding truisms about ideals and finding things of value. The rhetoric, forcefully delivered (as it is here) is an actor's dream, but although the story is beautifully and dramatically told, it lacks enough surprises, is heavy with the gravitas of its own self-importance, and may tempt some audiences simply to exclaim, 'So what'? Reading up on the background can supply a context that gives All the King's Men greater depth, but as entertainment it is a tour-de-force that is at the same time unsatisfying.

As a straight drama the movie tends to drag at times but considered as a thinly veiled account of the rise and fall of Louisianna governor Huey Long it becomes a riveting period piece. To see the similarities in the fictional and actual stories please check Wikipedia under "Huey Long", part of which states the following...

One of (Huey Long's) famous speeches was, "Your will is my strength and your need is my justice. They want to ruin me so they can ruin you, and I won't let them!" This quote was used verbatim in the movie.

Sean Penn dominates every scene in which he appears - a fantastic performance.

I loved the book and have taught it every year to my AP students. We've been excited to see the film and have had big hopes for it. I find the 1949 film nearly impossible to watch, because they made so many changes to really critical parts of the book.

I think this movie will be a great addition to my DVD collection to help establish setting and so on for future AP English classes.

The script keeps lots of the dialogue, images, and the looping storytelling from the text I understand the compressions they needed to do--and they generally worked.

The acting was powerful: lots of nuances from Jude Law, Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, and the rest. I saw reviews busting on Law for being so beautiful--a tragedy we share, of course--but honestly, I thought he did well at getting to the heart of Jack.

It really helped me to see the locations where they filmed: the statehouse, Burden's Landing, Mason City, and more.

My one quibble is the ending-- I love the book because it tells a tale of redemption, of making things right, of reconciliation--I think the film hints at it, but doesn't quite get there.

In the 50's, in Louisiana, the smart populist, manipulative and wolf hick Willie Stark (Sean Penn) is elected governor with the support of the lower social classes. He joins a team composed of his bodyguard and friend Sugar Boy (Jackie Earle Haley); the journalist from an aristocratic family Jack Burden (Jude Law); the lobbyist Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini); and his mistress Sadie Burke (Patricia Clarkson), to face the opposition of the upper classes. When the influent Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) supports a group of politicians in their request of impeachment, Stark assigns Jack to find some dirtiness along the life of Irwin, leading to a tragedy in the end.

In spite of having a constellation in the cast, "All the King's Man" is a low paced and boring soap opera. The dramatic and tragic story has some good moments, when the Machiavellian Willie Stark uses his political skills to develop strategies and revert situations, but the lead character of Jude Law is annoying. His romance with Anne Stanton, performed by Kate Winslet, is simply awful and unreasonable, and I do not know why the relationship of Jack with Judge Irwin is only disclosed by Mrs. Burden after his death. The cinematography and art decoration are very beautiful, but I did not like the story. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Grande Ilusão" ("The Great Illusion")

I may be in the minority but I found this to be a very good picture, was it as great as the casting implies it should be, probably not, but it was extremely well written. Sean Penn made a great Willie Stark, not what you would expect if you had seen the earlier versions, but he brought his usual passion and emotion to the role. Jude Law did a very good job, torn between two worlds with his reserved demeanor, you could almost see him cry out from the torture. All of the other characters were simply props and support for the two main characters of Willie Stark and Jack Burden. Even though the movie is not fact based it captures the time it represents very well. Huey Long (whom Willie Stark) is based on, was what some called a madman and some called a great leader of the common man. It is now out on video and worth watching