Retro Film Review: All the King's Men (2006)
Of all the Hollywood failures in 2006, few garnered as much attention as All the King's Men, an expensive and lavish political drama whose creators did not shy away from their 'Oscar' ambitions. However, the fiasco of All the King's Men was not entirely unexpected, considering it was yet another Hollywood remake, exemplifying the lack of ideas in the contemporary American film industry.
To make matters worse, it was an attempt to rework something that was already a pinnacle in itself – the adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that won an 'Oscar' in 1949, representing one of the rare instances where a literary classic provided material for a cinematic classic.
Unlike Robert Penn Warren's novel, set in the American state of Louisiana in the 1930s, the film by Steve Zaillian (best known as the author of the script for Schindler's List) has the plot set two decades later. Through the narration of journalist Jack Burden (played by Jude Law), we follow the rise and fall of Willie Stark (played by Sean Penn), a larger-than-life politician. He starts as a naive idealist, then becomes a fiery populist speaker winning over the masses with promises of social reforms for the poor, and ultimately, as governor, must resort to the same dirty governing methods he publicly denounced.
Warren's literary classic – which was adapted into a Soviet TV series in the early 1970s for its portrayal of the dark side of American democracy – is equally as fascinating as the real-life figure who inspired the character of Willie Stark: Huey P. Long (1893 – 1935), the governor of Louisiana, around whom historians still debate as fiercely as the public has been divided between his fanatical supporters and detractors during his lifetime. Long, portrayed by John Goodman in the TV film Kingfish in 1995, left behind numerous schools, hospitals, bridges, roads, and free textbooks for the poor, but also a reputation as a politician who did not shy away from using any means to achieve his goals, including not just “ordinary” corruption, but governing methods more akin to totalitarian regimes.
Unfortunately, very little of Long's/Stark's charisma is visible in the film, as Sean Penn sees All the King's Men as an opportunity for irritating overacting. Opposite him is a host of esteemed British actors – Hopkins, Winslet, Law – who made little effort beyond attempting to speak with a Southern accent, and whose characters quickly fade from the viewer's memory. The blandness of the characters is further compounded by Zaillian's clumsy script, which confuses the audience by combining “poetic” flashbacks with Law's monotonous narration.
For those not adequately informed about the history of the U.S. in the 1930s or the story of Huey P. Long, All the King's Men will be a completely incomprehensible film, requiring at least several viewings to understand what actually happened to the characters. There is no doubt that most will lack the patience for such an endeavour. What Warren intended to convey in his novel is far easier to grasp by observing certain all-too-familiar details from the real world rather than through vacuous Hollywood films.
RATING: 2/10 (-)
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