Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Recasting 2001: "The Contender"

Not since my 1996 pick have I chosen a film outside of its original release year. With the exception of Blue Sky (which is sort of a special case considering its original release was two years later than planned), I've kept it to one year before or after. And as I mentioned at the end of my last post, this and the next two picks will be films that were originally released the year prior. 

Director Rod Lurie wrote the screenplay for The Contender in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, specifically with Joan Allen in mind for the lead role of Senator Laine Hanson. After the death of the Vice President, Hanson is tapped by the President (portrayed by Jeff Bridges) as a possible replacement. The obvious odds are on the governor of Virginia, but President Evans is determined as part of his legacy to place a woman in the number two spot, and ultimately selects Hanson. 

The bulk of the film surrounds the contentious confirmation battle that ensues. After a background investigation on Hanson purports that she was involved in an orgy in college, the likelihood of her getting through is put seriously into question. Gary Oldman plays the snarky chair of the committee, Congressman Sheldon Runyon, who leads the charge against confirming Hanson. Runyon focuses on the speculations surrounding Hanson's early personal life, and pushes the President to select the governor instead. President Evans, however, has evidence from the FBI that the governor committed a crime in order to garner media and public favor. Hanson is confirmed, Runyon's a loser, and the President scolds members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle for anyone who may have wrongly obstructed Hanson's confirmation. 

In hindsight, this seems like a role tailor-made for Meryl. Around the time of the film's release, however, she hadn't really done a lot of political stuff. I think it took George Bush's two terms to get her blood boiling enough to be attracted to roles in films such as The Manchurian Candidate, Rendition, and Lions for Lambs. I realize that had she done Primary Colors three years prior, it would be two political-themed movies in a relatively short time. But the roles are rather different. And the situation Senator Laine Hanson finds herself in seems like actress catnip. 

 

That soaring music makes me roll my eyes just a tad, but it's a great speech. It's almost like what I'd expect Meryl herself to say if asked what her values as an American were. What I love about the character is how she refuses, against her own political gain, to justify the questions about her sexual activity with a response. There's a huge double standard on display with Runyon's line of questioning. Hanson's correct when she says at one point in the film that if it were a man in her position, it wouldn't even be a thought. The whole process in itself is a circus that in this day and age seems customary, or even expected. But even twenty years ago, it was perhaps a little less common for such partisan divide. I say that knowing this film came out at the tail end of eight years of a Clinton presidency, released just a few weeks before Americans went to the polls to choose between Bush and Gore.

The film received decent reviews, with a score of 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and 59 on Metacritic. It barely made back its budget, despite its timely release schedule. Both Allen and Bridges received Golden Globe, SAG, and Oscar nominations (in lead and supporting, respectively). Gary Oldman--not someone who's always had the most gleaming track record when it comes to expressing personal opinions--was dissatisfied with changes in the film that took place after Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks company bought the distribution rights. He complained that cuts made to the final film gave it a more Democratic bent, which hurt the film's "ambiguous" nature. There's some debate about what was actually said, but I do tend to enjoy films that leave us thinking a little, versus just saying "See?! Isn't this bad?!" I don't know what the film would've looked like without the cuts, but I can say that the first time I remember watching this, I thought to myself, "Jeez, it'd be so much easier for her if she just said 'It wasn't me.'" Not that I couldn't articulate the double standard in place of course, but one wonders at times how and when a certain amount of pragmatism would come into play in situations like that. I expect in our sordid political history, few have exhibited the level of integrity that Senator Laine Hanson did. 


  

6 comments:

  1. Excellent choice and assessment Jeff. This would have been a very interesting choice for Meryl at this point. I thought this was a well written and thoughtful movie. It only took 20 years for a President to successfully get a female to the Presidency!

    My 2002 choice remains "In The Bedroom"! :)

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    1. Closest a woman's ever been in the U.S!

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    2. LOVED this movie. She was second for me being Burstyn. In the Bedroom was the following year 2001 and was the most boring slog of a film.

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  2. A great pick, Jeff. 2002 was a slightly better field for actresses over the age of 50, maybe Streep could have been one of the Banger Sisters?

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  3. If I didn't know you were choosing from the following year I would also suggest that Meryl could have played Virginia Woolf in that section of "The Hours".

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    1. Oh my gosh I never even thought of that. Although Woolf was supposed to be 41 in The Hours. Meryl would've been 52 during filming. She probably could've pulled it off though!

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