Marie: justice criminelle

In case you've never heard of Marie Ragghianti, she escaped an abusive marriage and went to work for a firm, only to discover some unsavory things about it. In the movie "Marie", Sissy Spacek plays her as well as can be expected. However, I would agree with a previous reviewer that the movie sort of uses her as a conduit to tell the story, and otherwise seems incomplete.

But overall, they do a pretty good job showing how Marie was finally able to make something of herself, only to be faced with the dilemma of maintaining this position or blowing the whistle. Maybe not exactly a masterpiece, but certainly worth seeing. Also starring Jeff Daniels and Morgan Freeman.

This movie is based on a true story, a story that is, in fact, much worse than is portrayed here.

The governor of Tennessee, Ray Blanton, must rank as the worst the state ever had and, as a son of Tennessee, let me tell you that is really saying something.

Not to spoil the movie, let me add that Bill Clinton ended his presidency much as did Blanton end his governorship. That fact is sort of hinted at by the movie, but Blanton's governorship was so rife with corruption, with members of his family and his friends and allies living and profiting at the expense of the taxpayers, one movie cannot do the story justice. It would take at least a miniseries to tell the whole tale.

This movie, though, makes a good stab at part of the story, the part played by the title character, Marie. Sissy Spacek does her usual good job as Marie, displaying not only her own mature beauty but an admirable emotional range as both the put-upon government employee and the concerned mother.

Fred Thompson ... well, there are not enough superlatives in my limited vocabulary to express all my admiration and respect for him. He is a fine actor, and he was one of the greatest U.S. senators ever to represent the usually misrepresented state of Tennessee. Certainly the two there now (2004) don't begin to be big enough to fill his shoes, nor do they remotely resemble him in moral stature, intelligence, or knowledge of the Constitution. Well, he is better off back in acting, but it is a serious loss to good government that Fred Thompson decided not to seek re-election.

I'm tempted to say, too, that any movie with John Cullum is a movie to see, if only to watch his scenes. What a superb actor, what a major talent he is. His big scene in "1776" just steals that movie, to name merely one.

Not to slight any other person in this excellent cast, but I have gone on long enough. They are excellent.

I will carp about three things: Some of the expository dialog was trite and silly, especially the character Kevin's last scene. The courtroom scene was missing something. I believe if I had been on the jury, I'd have voted differently simply because the evidence was not presented well enough. (One can understand Sen. Arlen Specter {more-or-less-R.- Pa.} and his "not proved" impeachment vote.)

And why was Bill Sanderson not cast in this? He is a marvelous actor, could probably have handled beautifully almost any role, and besides he is from Tennessee. And he is usually in Spacek's movies. Too bad, for us and for him.

Still, I'm glad I finally got to see "Marie." The story is important, and the movie is extremely well done.

One more quibble: A very well-known Edmund Burke quote is used several times, but in an odd paraphrase. Not inappropriate, but jarring because of the different phrasing. Never mind. This is a good movie, and I hope everyone sees it.

Marie Ragghianti (Sissy Spacek) has enough of her abusive husband. She leaves him taking her three children back home to Tennessee. In 1973, she goes back to school. She gets a job from former classmate Eddie Sisk (Jeff Daniels). The head of the parole board, Charles Traughber (Morgan Freeman), is uncooperative. Bill Thompson is an unscrupulous operator behind the scenes. Sisk tells her to release a prisoner for the sake of a contributor to the Governor. He surprises her by making her the new chairman expecting more cooperation.

Sissy Spacek is great. I kinda remember this story from the news. Jeff Daniels is also great as something more than his normal nice guy. The ending is a little bland. The courtroom has some nice turns but the tension flattens out. More could have been done with Kevin's character. This is a compelling true story with some good acting.

There are more than a few movies about women battling and (hopefully) beating the system, so the field was already getting pretty crowded by 1985, when this film hit the cinemas. But it stands up there with the best of them; the greater surprise is that "Marie" is so less well known than, for instance, "Erin Brockovich" or "Norma Ray". The people involved in making this production are all out of the top drawer: Sissy Spacek in the lead role, supported by Jeff Daniels, Keith Szarabajka, Fred Thompson and Morgan Freeman (in a comparatively small part); director Roger Donaldson; cameraman Sam Mendes; and screenwriter John Briley. The script is tightly written, with a good pattern of sequences that moves the action through suspense (or, more precisely, a sense of menace), anxious domestic incidents, and lighter casual moments: the story looks and feels authentic. Spacek is terrific in the lead role of a "not perfect" person who just won't let herself be pushed aside when her integrity gets in the way of her political masters. But no element of the production is weak: the final court drama is beautifully played (how much better are these sequences when they rely on real transcripts), and so is the dynamic within the family of the woman on a mission. Highly recommended.

Politics is a very dirty and corrupt business which is evident and clearly outlined in less than the two hours it took to watch this film. Sissy Spacek plays the real life victim and heroine Marie Fajardo Ragghianti, who after surviving and subsequently leaving an abusive husband with her three (3) young children in tow works hard, studies even harder to achieve a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) degree from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1992. Like most novice civil servants who look for leadership from their superiors it did not take Marie too long to rise in the public ranks from 1997 through 1999, she worked as the chief of staff for the United States Parole Commission. Once in this prestigious position Marie realized that she was being duped and placed in her role to serve at the favor of a corrupt Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton.

When Marie started asking questions when her boss (who hired her) Eddie Sisk and Governor Ray Blanton insisted that she blindly approve a number of very dubious and questionable paroles of known and convicted criminals she spoke to the FBI. Marie was abruptly terminated under false accusations that she herself was acting fraudulently with her office expense account and drinking to excess.

After surviving an abusive husband, raising three (3) children on her own, one son with some very serious medical issues, completing her Masters degree, she decided to fight her firing in a civil suit. After winning her case, the perpetrators namely Eddie Sisk (her former boss) and the Governor of Tennessee Ray Blanton were found guilty of extravagant spending, mail fraud, taking bribes for approving liquor licenses and questions were raised about their role(s) in approving wrongful paroles of convicted felons and served prison time.

The movie itself is a period piece reflective of the 1980's corrupt politicians and blatant disregard for the rule of law and serving as a civil servant, except that Sissy Spacek who plays the victim and heroine Marie Fajardo Ragghianti, is someone we can all look up to and express our gratitude for agreeing to make this movie and shed a bright light on a few corrupt government officials.