ABSOLUTE POWER
A film review by Andrew Campbell
Copyright 1997 Andrew Campbell
1997 Directed by Clint Eastwood Screenplay by William Goldman, from the novel by David Baldacci Starring Clint Eastwood, Laura Linney, Gene Hackman, Scott Glenn, E.G. Marshall, Judy Davis, Ed Harris Running Time approx. 2 hrs. 5 minutes
Rating: **/****
by Andrew Campbell
Clint Eastwood is a consummate professional whose efficiency as both an actor and director are virtually unparalleled in the business of Hollywood. He's fairly consistent as well- does anybody really remember 'Pink Cadillac' or 'The Rookie'?
Clint's latest, 'Absolute Power,' in which he serves as both director and star, also wrapped under time and under budget. Plucked from the galleys to be adapted for the big screen even before it was published as a novel, the film has a plot of the sort that makes conspiracy-theory lovers drool. Written by veteran , Oscar-winning scribe William Goldman of 'Misery' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' it features a stellar supporting cast, some tight editing and thoroughly professional performances. This, in fact, is the least that can be expected of a Hollywood picture, especially one with as much pedigree as there is here; unfortunately, there's not much more.
The premise is shocking: a burglar (Eastwood) witnesses a murder and subsequent coverup involving none other than the President of the United States. So far, so plausible. The first twenty minutes, like Clint's best efforts, are spare, taut, gripping. From there out, however, the tension dissolves into a jumbled-up mess of chases, reconciliation/revelation scenes, Dirty Harryish one-liners, one contrived set piece so obviously shot on a studio backlot as to defy credibility entirely, plus a campy, grossly miscalculated Presidential tango sequence that takes the cake as far as implausibility goes.
Laura Linney (who was cast in part, undoubtedly, due to her resemblance to Eastwood's daughter Alison) is the thief's estranged lawyer daughter, and the director's interest obviously resides in this relationship, making their scenes together, while unremarkable, rooted and believable. This kind of story, however, with its far-reaching implications and intrigue, requires a larger canvas than Eastwood wants to use. Neither he nor the screenplay are interested in examining the motivations for any of the perephrial characters; instead, character and plot details are explained away in dialog, if they are at all. Scott Glenn, Judy Davis, Dennis Haysbert and Gene Hackman are the conspirators, and each registers as type more than as understandable characters- the conscience, the bitch, the coldblood, the hardass, respectively (Hackman=92s performance could be taken from any number of his last few films). There may have been scenes left on the cutting room floor, but one suspects they truly didn't have that much to do.=20 Only Ed Harris (particularly in a terrific, tensely playful exchange over lunch with Eastwood's thief), registers as a specific human being, while E.G. Marshall, as the President=92s benefactor, gets asked to be little more than old. It's as if Lord Acton's phrase ('Absolute power corrupts absolutely') serves as the subtext of the film by default, and that leaves =91Absolute Power=92 resembling not much more than an expensi= ve second-rate TV movie- which it probably would have been without the names attached to it here. =20
The idea of a corrupt President isn't so far fetched, of course, but it doesn=92t go without saying, and the film panders to the lowest regard of its audience for government and political power without revealing anything new or remotely interesting about the nature of power or, at the least, the nature of the people of the film. (Why does Eastwood=92s burglar return to thieving? What makes Haysbert=92s Secret Serviceman a ruthless assassin, while Scott Glenn=92s has a tortured conscience?) All of this makes a movie uninteresting, but at its worst, 'Absolute Power' indulges the more base instinct of the audience, glossing over interesting questions of responsibility and national security (not to mention the corrupting nature of power) with movie conventions. This is one of those pictures with intended lines and moments of humor which, if you catch yourself laughing and stop to think, isn't funny at all; it's a sinking feeling to know that the filmmaker has taken the easy route, letting the audience off the hook. Only the professionalism of Eastwood, his fellow actors and the film=92s technicians make 'Absolute Power' watchable.
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