A Grande Ilusão

The critics slammed this movie and I loved it. Shame on the critics.

I love movies that transport me to an exotic place and a distant time. "All the King's Men" lushly recreates mid-century Louisiana. There's a lot of money up on the screen, beautifully lit and photographed: vintage, boat-like automobiles, forties and fifties fashions and fabrics, Spanish moss, ante-bellum mansions, a bronze bas relief map of Louisiana, set in a floor, that is put to amazing use.

There's a scene where a young woman returns from an illicit tryst in dim light. Her hair ripples to her shoulders in honey blonde waves. Her plump lips are painted, matte, in the color of dried blood. Her jilted lover, his fedora slung low on his forehead, stands in silhouette, watching her every move. Neither speaks.

In another scene, a backlit woman enters a bar and places her white cotton gloves over her hand.

Just, lovely scenes that capture another era.

I'm a political junkie, so I went to see this movie in spite of the bad reviews. It didn't let me down. It's a political soap opera from the first frame to the last.

Deals cut in smoke filled rooms, double crosses, fiery speeches to enthralled crowds. I ate it up.

The stars! Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Kathy Baker, James Gandolfini...Jackie Earle Haley, someone I'd never heard of before, was memorable as a gun toting body guard.

Sean Penn's performance has been panned - too much arm waving. I loved the arm waving. Penn's arm waving doesn't come across as forced or inorganic. This is a man who can barely contain himself -- he's a human tornado. The historical figure with whom Penn's character, Willy Stark, is associated, Huey Long, was a powerhouse builder of bridges, hospitals, and roads. Penn conveys that kinetic energy and passion.

And the script! Thank God someone was willing to write a script in which people take some risks with language, communicate complex ideas, employ figures of speech! Heavens! In a movie in which nothing explodes and no cartoon superhero saves the world! I loved having to listen to what people were saying to know what was going on. I loved the flowery language. This is the South, after all, from several decades ago, and, yeah, those folks did love their language skills.

Another reviewer denounced the film's score as bombastic. It is bombastic, wonderfully so. It suits the subject matter perfectly. This isn't a movie about a shrinking violet who sits at home and writes poetry; it's a movie about a sweaty man who takes power and makes his mark.

Okay, so why didn't I give the movie ten stars? Sean Penn's character is fully realized, but the other characters are not. "All the King's Men" is a big, fat soap opera. There's a lot of sex, threats, lust, longing, suicide, and betrayal to fit into two hours. The film should have been longer so that characters other than Willy could have been fleshed out.

Patricia Clarkson is a case in point. Her character sets some key events in motion, but she's barely there -- either the character or the actress.

Anthony Hopkins comes across as just that -- Anthony Hopkins -- not the character he is playing. While everyone else does their best to produce a Southern accent, Hopkins insists on speaking with a British accent, and this sticks out like a sore thumb.

Kate Winslet and Mark Ruffalo are meant to be, like Blanche Dubois, representatives of degenerate Southern aristocracy, but they both seem entirely too robust to be degenerating.

Jude Law is better in a similar role as a member of the fading aristocratic class. Law always seems to do well in roles where he is punished by, rather than enjoys, his beauty. Just so here. Too bad that, in key scenes, Hopkins doesn't create any chemistry with him.

The lack of development of secondary characters -- and everyone, compared to Willie Stark, is secondary here -- made the film oddly emotionally unmoving to me. Again, there are scenes that contain the kind of elements that might have packed an emotional wallop that left me dry eyed.

Willy Stark's rise to power is built on the poverty of the citizens of Louisiana. The movie didn't convey that poverty to me. According to one website devoted to Huey Long, Lousiana had three hundred miles of paved road, two bridges, and high illiteracy rates when Long took office. If true, those stats are startling.

Finally, something else was missing, for me. Whenever one observes a charismatic politician, there is always the question: Does he really care about the people? Or is he just addicted to the adulation? I never had that question about Sean Penn's Willy Stark, as I do about, say, Bill Clinton. Willy Stark, here, is imperfect, but sincere. He wants to help his people.

I saw this film at the New Orleans premiere and found it to be an interesting spectacle that I largely enjoyed watching. I'm writing to let the public know that the numbers look strange at this point (September 17, 2006). Why? Nearly 20% of the votes have been in the 1-3 range (which would rate this film to be in the ranks of the worst low budget films ever made). One voter has commented that he did not see the film, but hates Sean Penn's politics so he won't see it and will give the film a 1 just to spite Penn. At the same time, nearly half of the votes give the film a perfect 10. I don't think that the polarized ratings to date reflect careful attempts to rate the film. Perhaps that's often the case with IMDb. I suggest taking them with a grain of salt for the time being and deciding for yourself if you are interested in the film.

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.

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