I must admit I knew nothing about Jack Abramoff before seeing this film. I'm guessing his story caused quite a scandal in the corridors of power in Washington DC at the time. I have never taken much of an interest in American politics, it seems very complicated to me and this film hasn't really changed my view. It's opened my eyes somewhat, but it only goes to show just how cutthroat a business modern politics is! I will give you my thoughts on this one after a very brief summary.
This film tells the very recent story of Jack Abramoff and his associate, Michael Scanlon. They were lobbyists under the Bush administration. Their job was to find companies or organisations that wanted or needed changes in legislation. They would then, for a substantial fee, approach the various politicians they needed to get the job done. The wheels were often greased with large donations to re-election campaigns or similar. All of what I've said so far is, I believe, perfectly legal. The film tells us about their dealings with various Native American tribes and how they defrauded them out of large amounts of money in order to secure gambling rights. There is more to tell, but I'd better leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be charging me with misconduct.
Although I found the film a little hard to follow I did enjoy the performances or both Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff and Barry Pepper as Michael Scanlon. As I've already said, US politics is not a beast I usually confront and I'd like to say that this film convinced me otherwise, but sadly it didn't. I found most of the characters quite despicable (no real surprise there though) and the way they go about their business quite deplorable. The film itself is pretty well made and the plot does make sense after a while, after several of the threads begin to pull together. I can't exactly say it had me gripped, but it was quite well made and Kevin Spacey did a pretty good job in the leading role. Sadly it's not one I'd recommend unless you're really into American politics, or really have to see all of Kevin Spacey's films.
My Score: 5.4/10.
IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 6,457 votes at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36/100 (based on 90 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
This film tells the very recent story of Jack Abramoff and his associate, Michael Scanlon. They were lobbyists under the Bush administration. Their job was to find companies or organisations that wanted or needed changes in legislation. They would then, for a substantial fee, approach the various politicians they needed to get the job done. The wheels were often greased with large donations to re-election campaigns or similar. All of what I've said so far is, I believe, perfectly legal. The film tells us about their dealings with various Native American tribes and how they defrauded them out of large amounts of money in order to secure gambling rights. There is more to tell, but I'd better leave it there or the Spoiler Police will be charging me with misconduct.
Although I found the film a little hard to follow I did enjoy the performances or both Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff and Barry Pepper as Michael Scanlon. As I've already said, US politics is not a beast I usually confront and I'd like to say that this film convinced me otherwise, but sadly it didn't. I found most of the characters quite despicable (no real surprise there though) and the way they go about their business quite deplorable. The film itself is pretty well made and the plot does make sense after a while, after several of the threads begin to pull together. I can't exactly say it had me gripped, but it was quite well made and Kevin Spacey did a pretty good job in the leading role. Sadly it's not one I'd recommend unless you're really into American politics, or really have to see all of Kevin Spacey's films.
My Score: 5.4/10.
IMDb Score: 6.3/10 (based on 6,457 votes at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 36/100 (based on 90 reviews counted at the time of going to press).