All the King's Men

Starring Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Patricia Clarkson, Mark Ruffalo

Rated PG-13

No, “All the King’s Men” is not the best picture of the year, or a major Oscar contender as many had predicted. But the film is still compelling, and features many great performances. Critics and audiences have almost entirely dismissed this movie as a misfire, but I think Steve Zaillian’s film deserves more credit for its vivid portrait of a complicated politician.

            Based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren, “All the King’s Men” opens as journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law) closely follows the election for the next governor of Louisiana, where Willie Stark (a fantastic Sean Penn) has suddenly become a public phenomenon. Stark is a candidate who speaks his mind, and connects deeply with the so-called ‘hicks’ of Louisiana, promising to dethrone the corrupt politicians that currently run the state. Despite a hard battle from said politicians, Stark wins by a landslide, and hires Burden as his top consultant.

            But what starts out as a breath of fresh air for Louisiana turns into a nightmare, as Stark becomes corrupted by the political system, and fails to stay true to his ideals. Whether this means coercing powerful Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins) to vote against an impeachment of Stark, or wooing beautiful Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet) by tossing an important medical position to her brother Adam (Mark Ruffalo), Stark becomes a power-obsessed madman, and Burden is placed in a difficult moral situation.

            “All the King’s Men” explores the idea of a promising politician succumbing to a world of corruption, and in the process, gets great performances from Hopkins, Law, and especially Penn. To miss this film would be a mistake; ignore the bad publicity and become immersed in Stark’s world.

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