THE CONTENDER by Rod Lurie

The Contender (2000)

Direction and screenplay: Rod Lurie. Cast: Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Jeff Bridges, Christian Slater, Sam Elliott, William L. Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Robin Thomas

THE POLITICIANS’ HOUR

The Contender by Rod Lurie "Principles only mean anything when we stick by them when they’re inconvenient," says Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen) in Rod Lurie’s political thriller The Contender. She should know. In that film, the poor Democratic senator is grilled by a Republican inquisitor with a bad hairdo (a venom-spitting Gary Oldman) who wants to prevent at all costs her being confirmed as the next Vice President of the United States. Even if that means destroying Hanson’s political career by making public the senator’s alleged participation in an orgy during her college days. (Shades of Advise and Consent and The Best Man, in both of which evildoers threaten to disclose the gay past of a political candidate.)

Now, why such hatred? Well, the Republican watchdog is certain that the president has chosen Sen. Hanson because of her gender, and not her qualifications for the job. Adding insult to injury, the Democrat Hanson used to be a Republican. That is the basis for the drama that ensues — and it is a whole lot of drama, involving, among other issues, betrayal, adultery, manslaughter, and shark sandwiches. This political circus is fun to watch because of its melodramatic excesses, but not once does director-writer (and former film critic) Lurie convince us that his story has any resemblance to reality. First and foremost, Hanson is everything her foes say she isn’t: an experienced politician and an intelligent woman of solid principles. Therefore, the initial rationale that propels her enemies to look for dirt on her seems patently absurd. And so does everything that follows.

Hanson, in fact, is such an eloquent and just damn perfect paragon of virtue that her political views become nearly irrelevant. You may not agree with her religious beliefs (as an atheist, she has none) or with her choice of underwear, but orgy or no orgy, Senator Hanson is portrayed as someone much too good for such a lowly position as U.S. V.P.

The reason I didn’t get nauseated by this overabundance of honor and courage in one single individual is Joan Allen’s masterfully restrained performance. Allen is strong and determined but never self-righteously so, and she doesn’t display an iota of self-pity or victimization during the grueling proceedings. Almost single-handedly, Allen carries the film without making us either cringe or laugh at the absurd and contradictory situations concocted by Lurie — not the least of which is an atheist nominee for Vice President of the obsessively religious United States.

As a political thriller, The Contender is simplistic, silly, and weak-kneed — did we really need to learn about the young Laine Hanson’s sexual purity? — but as a star vehicle with more twists and turns than all daytime soaps put together, you will have a tough time finding anything more amusing.

Synopsis:

Following the death of the Vice President of the United States, President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) must choose a new second-in-command. His top two picks are Senator Jack Hathaway (William L. Petersen), who has just enjoyed a surge in popularity after his (failed) attempt to save a woman whose car had plunged into a river, and Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), a former Republican who switched party affiliations when her fellow Republicans veered too far to the religious right.

President Evans opts for Hanson, a decision that is not well received by either side of the political fence. A ruthless Republican senator, Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman), takes personal offence with Hanson’s nomination — partly because he sees it as a sort of affirmative action appointment, partly because Hanson used to be a Republican. Runyon will stop at nothing to ruin Hanson’s chances to become vice president, even resorting to playing up her alleged participation in an orgy during her days in college. The scandal, Runyon hopes, will prevent Congress from ever confirming the nomination. Hanson, for her part, remains mum about her personal past, asserting that her private life and her public life are two different spheres that should be kept apart.

DVD:

The Contender Region 1 DVD (U.S. / Canada / U.S. territories) features:

Picture: Anamorphic widescreen - 1.85:1
Audio: English (DTS Superbit), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Commentary (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles: English
Audio commentary by writer/director Rod Lurie and actress Joan Allen
Deleted scenes
Making-of featurette "The Making of a Political Thriller"

List price: US$9.99.

A DreamWorks release.

The audio commentary by Rod Lurie is quite interesting, for the writer/director discusses his views on the role of women in politics and his own liberal political stance — not that it would be any big surprise to anyone who has watched The Contender. Lurie also talks in great detail about several of his directorial decisions and even touches on the well-publicized problems that arose between himself and Gary Oldman (see Notes / Trivia). (Lurie basically dismisses the issue as overblown gossip.)

With Lurie hogging the microphone, Joan Allen doesn’t get to say much, and the little she does say is not very illuminating. Unfortunately, Allen offers very little insight about her thoughts on Senator Laine Hanson or her choices as a performer. Most of the time she seems to be playing either the part of Lurie’s Yes Woman or his Greek Chorus.

The deleted scenes are a welcome addition to the DVD, and a couple of them in particular — Senator Hanson showing some cleavage and refusing to button up; the FBI agent (Kathryn Morris) talking to Governor Jack Hathaway’s wife (Kristen Shaw) — are quite good and should have made the final cut.

Surprisingly, the making-of featurette, "The Making of a Political Thriller," is also quite entertaining and informative. Instead of the dull and phony infomercials that plague so many DVDs, this documentary actually offers some relevant information about the making of The Contender and an overview of previous American political thrillers. Curiously, Oliver Stone is not mentioned in the featurette.

Notes:

Rod Lurie wrote the script with Joan Allen in mind. Paul Newman was the first choice for the role of the president, which eventually went to Jeff Bridges. William L. Petersen was to have played Senator Laine Hanson’s husband, a role that went to Robin Thomas.

According to Premiere magazine, The Contender’s co-star-executive producer Gary Oldman and producer Douglas Urbanski (also Oldman’s manager and a bit player in the film) were unhappy that DreamWorks reedited The Contender after the studio bought the film for distribution.

"Rod Lurie has transformed from being an ultra-right-wing conservative in one year to saying that he has always been a liberal Democrat," the Republican Urbanski was quoted as saying, "because his benefactors are [Jeffrey] Katzenberg, [Steven] Spielberg, and [David] Geffen."

Urbanski added that the release cut of The Contender, which came out shortly before the 2000 presidential election, was "almost a Goebbels-like piece of propaganda."

Urbanski later stated that the Goebbels quote was printed out of context, and denied that The Contender was cut against his or Oldman’s will. As quoted by film reviewer Roger Ebert, Urbanski declared that he and Oldman "produced this film, every last cut and frame," adding that DreamWorks "did not influence the final cut or have anything to do with it."

Johnny Cash’s song "Ring of Fire," which is played while the initial credits are rolling, is sung by Jeff Bridges and Kim Carnes.

THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

DER UNTERGANG / DOWNFALL

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

GANGS OF NEW YORK

LENNY

NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA

ROAD TO PERDITION

KINKY BOOTS

I HEART HUCKABEES

FAHRENHEIT 9/11

by Andre Soares | October 27, 2004 | Filed Under American Cinema / Hollywood, DVD, Film, Film Reviews

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