George Wallace

Gary Sinise delivers a superb performance in the biographical television film George Wallace. I well remember Wallace from back in the sixties and Sinise is so good in the part you think you're seeing home movies of Wallace, albeit a slightly skinnier version.

No southern politician since Huey Long had the impact of Wallace on the national scene. He was a product of the white backlash to the Brown vs. Board of Education School integration decision of the Supreme Court. Wallace, previously a moderate who lost a gubernatorial primary in 1958, courted the die-hard segregationist vote in 1962 and won the first of several terms as Governor of Alabama. It was a platform that he used to rattle both the Democratic and Republican parties for several years.

He unleashed a lot of dark and evil forces beyond even what he knew and maybe he never realized the full extent of them even after the attempted assassination of him at a presidential campaign rally in Laurel, Maryland in 1972. But he had to come to grips with pain and suffering as he never did before and maybe he caught a bit of empathy for those of the disenfranchised he'd demagogued against previously.

It is a fact that the former poster boy for race segregation got a large amount of black support in his final race for Governor in 1986.

Sinise is aided and abetted by good performances by Clarence Williams, III who serves as a kind of Greek Chorus, a fictional black servant at the Governor's mansion who is Wallace's sounding board as neither his two wives became.

Mare Winningham who is the small town girl Lurleen who he married and who just wanted a normal home life. She became part of his ambitions when she was elected Governor herself in a ploy to get around Alabama's term limit law. Winningham is as I remember Lurleen Wallace and conceive of what she was like in her private life.

Angelina Jolie in a break out role for her plays Wallace's second wife Cornelia who was the niece of former Governor Jim Folsom played her ably by Joe Don Baker. After Wallace was shot and paralyzed and lost the control of a number of lower body functions, she tries as best she can to adjust. A whole lot is against it though in both her's and his personalities.

George Wallace is a much better than average made for TV product, it probably should have gotten a theatrical release. It's a portrait of some dark corners of America and shouldn't be missed.

The late John Frankenheimer was one of our truly great directors. He cut his teeth in the early days of television, directing over 100 tv shows and then he went on the direct Birdman Of Alcatraz, Seven Days In May, The Train and his masterpiece The Manchurian Candidate. He had a long dry spell after that where Hollywood more or less forgot about him, but in the early 90s he was able to make an amazing comeback with a series of tv films like Against The Wall, The Burning Season, Andersonville and this film. This is a man who directed actors like Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan and Edmond O'Brien, and yet he said Gary Sinise was one of the finest actors he ever worked with. Sinise is probably best remembered for his role as Lieutenant Dan in the Forrest Gump movie (one of the most depressing films that I ever saw I HATED IT!!!). He did a wonderful job as Harry Truman and he equally rises to the occasion as George Wallace. George Wallace was one of the truly controversial figures of our time. In 1958, he ran for Alabma's governor as someone who favored cival rights and lost. According to friends he vowed that he would never be "out niggered" again (excuse my language I'm just quoting what he said) and he won. He voweed in his inagural address "segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever!" If ever a man symbolized the horrors of racism in the 1960's it was certainly George Wallace. Sinise brilliantly portrays Wallace's ruthless ambition and drive for power, but then there is the 1972 assassination attempt that left him paralyzed. There is a sad scene in the film where a doctor tells him that he will be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, that he will be impotent and not even able to control bladder or bowel and that he will never have another day without pain. It's maybe because of this that Wallace sought not power but forgiveness in the last years of his life. He apologized to those he had hurt like the Freedom Riders. Sinise is wonderful in his role as is Angelina Jolie as his wife Cornelia. Forget her tatooes and her eccentricities, she is a fine actress who always delivers. Joe Don Baker also gives as Jim Folsom, Wallace's protege. Actually, it was only thru luck that Wallace became governor in 1962. Jim Folsom was a very popular Alabama politican who had been elected Governor twice before (1947-51,1955,59). In 1962, he ran against Wallace and had a good chance at a third term until he appeared drunk on a tv show on the eve of the election. Folsom forgot the names of his children and gave an extended imitation of a cuckoo clock. The performance cost him the election and ended his career as an important politician in Alabama.

In many ways Wallace was a reprehensible man so a three hour film of his rather infamous life should be a struggle to get through, that its not is almost wholly because it has such a high quality cast.

Clarence Williams III offers quiet support in the difficult role of Wallace's long time servant and the many familiar faces that are in support all are fine in their various roles. The real spotlight is on the three main characters and its here that the film really delivers.

Mare Winningham is both strong and soft as Lurleen Wallace standing by her man who is devoted to her. Their relationship does much to humanize Wallace. Angelina Jolie, during the very brief period of her career spent in TV, is equally strong as Cornelia Wallace showing that she was more than the trophy wife she was sometimes painted. Even with all this excellent work the film would be nothing without a knockout lead actor and Gary Sinise is that. He is totally committed to the character whether showing his bigotry or his humanity, a splendid piece of work. Frankenheimer's direction is sure handed keeping the interest level high as he moves through a most complicated man's life.

As an Australian I was unfamiliar with many of the fine historical details depicted in the movie, so it was in part a history lesson for me. It also means I have little at stake politically, so my review ought to be fairly unbiased in that respect.

George Wallace isn't an extraordinary film (especially considering it's from John (Manchurian Candidate) Frankenheimer), but it's thoroughly enjoyable, even if a little overlong for a single sitting. There are none of the elaborate directorial flourishes which you would get if this was an Oliver Stone job. Frankly, I was relieved.

I said the movie, as a whole, wasn't extraordinary. But Gary Sinise is quite simply superb. Irrespective of anything else, Wallace is worth watching just for his remarkable performance.

6.5/10 overall 10/10 for Sinise

More than simply showing a part of history, "George Wallace" shows how a person - in this case a white supremacist - can change. In the title role, Gary Sinise does as intense a job as ever. Seeing what Wallace does early in his career, you're horrified, but you don't really grow to hate the guy (granted, you don't admire him either). Another interesting performance in the movie is a very young Angelina Jolie as Wallace's second wife Cornelia.

In conclusion, I don't know how good most of John Frankenheimer's movies have been, but this one is definitely worth seeing. Also starring Mare Winningham, Clarence Williams III and Joe Don Baker.