All the King's Men DVD Review

"All The King's Men" reviews

DVD

All The King's Men

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2007-03-02 16:00:41

Provider

MRIB

DVD Review

Based on Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about thirties populist politician Huey Long, All The King's Men was directed by Oscar-winning screenwriter Steven 'Schindler's List' Zaillian and stars, among others, Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins.

Its protagonist is Willie Stark (Sean Penn), who, though obviously modelled on Huey Long, is placed in a fictitious universe. We first meet him in 1954 when he and his top aide, Jack Burden (Jude Law), are heading to a meeting with Judge Montague Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) in a speeding car in the dead of night. Whereupon the film goes into an extended flashback that begins five years earlier when Burden was a local reporter in New Orleans and Stark a parish treasurer heading for an encounter with political sleazeball Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini).

Stark's rise from humble origins to the Louisiana governor's mansion is the crux of All The King's Men. So we witness Stark making a series of lacklustre speeches until Burden informs him that he's got far more fire in his belly than he's willing to display, prompting him to up the ante and deliver a speech attacking the populist bigotry of Tiny Duffy et al.

Penn's performance is as flawless as ever and he's backed superbly by the supporting cast while the time-honoured political dogma makes the story as relevant as ever.

With such an array of talent on show, the special features offer much entertainment too. The making of documentary is fascinating and entertaining in itself while the deleted scenes, for a change, really warrant a viewing. There's also a quite plausible alternative ending.

Copyright © MRIB 2007.