The Conspirator

The Conspirator 2010

• Director: Robert Redford
• Seen by this director: The Milagro Beanfield War
• Based on the novel: no
• Cast: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Danny Huston, Colm Meaney, Alexis Bledel, Johnny Simmons
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• James McAvoy – X-Men etc, Atomic Blonde, Glass, Split, Victor Frankenstein, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Wanted, Starter for 10, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing, Bright Young Things, White Teeth
• Robin Wright – Blade Runner 2049, Wonder Woman, The Congress, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Breaking and Entering, Nine Lives, White Oleander, The Pledge, How to Kill Your Neighbour’s Dog, Forrest Gump
• Tom Wilkinson – The Lone Ranger, Hotel Marigold 1&2, The Ghost Writer, Valkyria, Michael Clayton, Batman Begins, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Girl with Pearl Earring, Before You Go, Shakespeare in Love, Wilde, The Full Monty, Smilla’s Sense of Snow, Sense and Sensibility, Prince of Jutland, In the Name of the Father
• Kevin Kline – My Old Lady, As You Like It, A Prairie Home Companion, Wild Wild West, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Ice Storm, Dave, Chaplin, The January Man, A Fish Called Wanda, Cry Freedom, Silverado, Sophie’s Choice, Hamlet
• Evan Rachel Wood – Into the Forest, Across the Universe, Practical Magic
• Justin Long – probably something
• Danny Huston – too many to mention
• Colm Meaney – One Chance, Parked, Layer Cake, Intermission, The Van, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain, The Last Mohican, The Commitments
• Johnny Simmons - The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Scott Pilgrim vs the World
• Why? James McAvoy.
• Seen: 24 September 2022      

       1865. The American Civil War is ending with a bitter victory for the Union. Instead of the victory party, the President and the First Lady attend the theatre.

       War hero Frederick Aikin (McAvoy) wants to put the war behind him and practice law.

       Historians and most everybody know what happened at the theatre. There was no doubt that it was John Wilkes Booth who assassinated Lincoln but the conspiracy behind it is less clear. One of the accused conspirators was Mary Surratt (Wright) who ran the boarding house where many of them lived.

       Aikin is assigned to defend Surratt, something he is most reluctant to do, being convinced of her guilt. Senator Reverdy Johnson (Wilkinson) demands of him that he respect the law stating that everyone has the constitutional right to a fair trial. Aikin finds himself caught up in the need to give her one as the trial proceeds and he is met with compact hostility from the prosecution.

       It’s a fascinating perspective on this historical event. McAvoy can and always does play any role with bravura and it’s possibly Wright’s best performance. 

4½ * of 5