Primary Colors (1998)
A Film Review by Mark O'Hara
I have not read the novel by "Anonymous" Joe Klein, and I wouldn't have picked the film "Primary Colors" as my first choice of the weekend, but I was pleasantly engaged.
First, John Travolta is right-on as Jack Stanton -- the Clintonesque quiet yet raspy drawl, the gut, the "tell me your pain" empathy. Emma Thompson is almost as strong as first lady-to-be Susan Stanton. In one scene in which this stolidly patient wife discovers another dalliance, Thompson snaps magnificently: it's as if her soul is slipping out of her. Her anger and then her grief are stunning to watch.
She'll probably be forgotten by the end of the year, but Kathy Bates should get nominated for supporting actress. As Libby the "Dust Buster," her character protects (as much as possible) the name of Jack Stanton, a friend from the 70's. Bates brings a literally crazy abandon to Libby, who is one of the few characters who is even concerned about taking and passing a morality test.
I've read in other reviews about a flaw in narration. Henry is the campaign worker through whose eyes we see most of the action. The trouble is that Adrian Lester turns in a performance that is solid but not dynamic. Sure, no one wants to try to out-act Bates and Travolta and Thornton, but Henry never shows us the passion that he claims to hold in his heart; he keeps it in his head. What causes him to stop working for one politician, to forfeit his relationship with a beautiful woman, to change his mind so easily when Jack Stanton asks him to?
"Primary Colors" sports a superb cast, down to the extras. Mike Nichols' last few efforts have been strong and solid, and this adds to the string.
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