The Contender

"We Are No Better Than He is"

I have seen three of director Rod Lurie's films. The first was this film, probably three or four years ago. I enjoyed it a great deal at the time, though found it *slightly* hard to follow. Only slightly. The other two films are both inferior, though also both films that I wouldn't give a negative review (just not an overly positive one). Those are Nothing But the Truth, and the remake of Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs. Since seeing The Contender for the first time, I've seen it countless more times - it is a delightfully rewatchable film, with some amazing writing and dialogue, a twisty, ingenuous plot, and above all, a fantastic cast that gives some brilliant performances.

Among those key figures of the cast are the highly entertaining Christian Slater as Rep. Webster, the reserved and subtle Joan Allen as Senator Hanson, the chameleon Gary Oldman as Rep. Shelly Runyon, and one of the best living actors, Jeff Bridges as President Jackson Evans. All of these actors give phenomenal performances, spewing the screenplay's heavy dialogue in the most believable, realistic fashion possible. Perhaps the most confusing part (for me on first watch - I should note, it was entirely followable, but a few times I had to think about what was going on; this is not a criticism, only a note) are all the names that are thrown around. Another film that had such a problem was the Coens' Miller's Crossing, but the chief issue with that film was that names are tossed around for people we haven't meant or perhaps never see. Here, that is not the issue.

Gary Oldman as Shelly Runyon plays a highly conservative Republican in charge of the House Judiciary Committee, who will decide whether to advise and consent to Sen. Hanson's ascension to the vice presidency, which has been left vacant for a few weeks (the exact details of what happened to the former Vice President are unclear, and unimportant). President Evans (Bridges) has chosen Hanson as his choice; his "swan song." Much ado is made about the fact that Evans is only nominating Hanson as his choice to "put a woman in office." At times, it actually seems like that may be the case, but there is more beneath the surface than we realize at first, one of the great joys of the screenplay by Lurie.

Conflict arises because Runyon leads the attack on Hanson, personally preferring Governor Hathaway (William Peterson), but also in an attempt to make a mockery of the Evans' administration. Hanson had previously been a member of the Republican party, but then moved to the Democratic party - this is part of Runyon's rage. But his hostility toward her is layers deep - he hates her stance on abortion, religion, and many other issues. There are a few references to Runyon and President Evans at Hartford - Evans suggest perhaps he shouldn't have been so rough on Runyon there.

Gary Oldman as Representative Runyon gives an outstanding performance; he's snaky, aggressive, and manipulative. Christian Slater gives an excellent performance as a Democrat, chosen by Republican Runyon to board the committee, because Slater doesn't support Hanson. Since the committee should be fifty-fifty Democrat/Republican, it benefits Runyon to bring aboard a Democrat who is not in favor of Hanson. But Slater's character, like most of the characters, proves to be more than he suggests on the surface. In fact, along with Allen's Senator Hanson, he may be one of the few characters in the film who holds true to the morals and "follow[s] [their] heart."

Jeff Bridges turns in yet another amazing performance as the President of the United States. The writing of his character is also stupendous. He has grace, likability, and a veritable presence on the screen and whatever room he's in. One of his most fascinating attributes is his constant ordering of food and his offering of food to whomever he may be entertaining at the time. Sometimes it's in the middle of conversation; at one particular point, it's in the middle of a crucial scene, and it reaches a line of comedy. "That's a shark steak sandwich. Fucking shark steak," he tells Slater, just before condemning the man for "defying his President."

"Fucking shark steak."

This film is hardly partisan. Runyon as the central Republican character is despicable, and there are two (fabulous) scenes involving his wife that let us know a great deal about Runyon's character, and one of those scenes brings Hanson to a magnificent, clenching decision that shows more of her true colors. Most of the other major characters are Democrats, from President Evans, to Laine Hanson, et al. I'd also like to note that Sam Elliott as White House Chief of Staff Kermit Newman turns in a fantastic performance. He's direct, harshly truthful, but still supportive.

After seeing the film for the first time, I looked up it's rating and consensus on RottenTomatoes. It holds a 76%, with the consensus "Critics say this political thriller is solidly made, with top-notch performances, screenplay, and direction for about two third of the film. Unfortunately, the ending almost tank the whole movie." Ignoring the two grammatical errors in those mere two sentences (hey, I've made plenty of typos, but come on, it's TWO sentences), I have always wondered (especially after MANY repeated viewings) what part of the ending "almost tank[s] the whole movie."

This is a political thriller with an ensemble of brilliant performances. It's accessible and entertaining. The characters are unique and dimensional; all of whom have their morals, values, and lines of absolute. The true greatness of the film is when those lines of absolute don't match up.

****/****