Listen, we know that the filmmakers behind “The Conspirator” want to import that gravity of the film‘s very serious subject matter in its marketing materials, but throwing up a poster with a busted up statue of Abraham Lincoln isn’t going to get audiences packing into theaters. But, you work with what you got and “The Conspirator” will have to rely on its fairly dull artwork and tepid tagline to pack ’em in.
Directed by Robert Redford, and boasting huge ensemble cast including James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Danny Huston, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Johnny Simmons, Stephen Root and Toby Kebbell, the film centers on the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. She is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life. Sounds pretty intriguing right? Well, we saw the film at TIFF and unfortunately it plays out like an old timey “Law & Order” but worse, instead of focusing on the fascinating story of the conspiracy, Redford is more interesting in heavily underlining comparisons to modern day politics.
But with Redford apparently re-tooling the film a bit before it hits theaters, maybe it will play a bit better now? We’ll have to wait and see. “The Conspirator” opens on April 15th. [IMPA]
