Character Assassination - Beyond Morality

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Movie
German title Character Assassination - Beyond Morality
Original title The Contender
Country of production USA ,
UK ,
Germany
original language English
Publishing year 2000
length 129 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 12
Rod
Director Rod Lurie
script Rod Lurie
production Stephanie Antosca ,
Willi Baer ,
Marc Frydman ,
James Spies ,
Douglas Urbanski
music Larry Groupé
camera Denis Maloney
cut Michael Jablow
occupation

Character assassination - Jenseits der Moral (Original title: The Contender ) is an American - British - German feature film of the political thriller genre from 2000 . The director was Rod Lurie , who also wrote the script . The main roles were played by Gary Oldman and Joan Allen .

action

After the Vice President dies , Democratic President Jackson Evans must propose a new Vice President. Governor Jack Hathaway is considered a favorite , especially after trying to save a woman from drowning in a daring, if unsuccessful, operation. However, Evans opts for Senator Laine Hanson.

The Republican Sheldon Runyon, who hates the president and therefore wants to torpedo his nomination, heads a parliamentary committee as an MP from Illinois to investigate the suitability of Hanson. He publishes photos that allegedly show Hanson as a student in a sex orgy. However, she refuses to comment on the photos and the related allegations.

Evans then meets with Runyon and suggests nominating Hathaway if Runyon vouches for him with his own career. He agrees and does so. It later turns out that the drowned woman's accident was fabricated. Hathaway had sent a young woman from the 14th Gulf Regiment $ 200,000 to get her car off the road, fall into a river, and be rescued by Hathaway. Because of these revelations, Hathaway is arrested for negligent homicide.

When witnesses show up to confirm that Hanson had not participated in any orgy, Evans wants to hold on to Hanson. In a one-to-one conversation, she also told the President that she had a birthmark on her right thigh that the woman pictured in the photos was missing. Nevertheless, she declined to stand as answering the questions put by the committee would only have the effect of confirming the legality of such questions.

Evans appears before the US Congress . He destroys Runyon's reputation and career and proposes Hanson as Vice President regardless of her waiver. The unanimous applause of the Congress shows that the President's request is being granted.

Reviews

  • Lexicon of the international film : "Fades, theses-like drama about power calculation and intrigues in a media democracy that impales contemporary historical figures like Newt Gingrich or Kenneth Starr , but is neither satire nor comedy."
  • Spiegel Online : "" Character assassination - beyond morality "does not move beyond, but precisely at the center of moral questions; As is so often the case, the German rental title is misleading. However, it is precisely this that makes it a terrifyingly naive, and in some ways even apolitical film. The question of the character of politicians is just as wrong as that of whether a bad person can write a good book. Political connections cannot be determined through psychological ethics "
  • Roger Ebert : "... but The Contender is a leap forward - more confident, more exciting, more biting" (four out of five stars)

Awards

Joan Allen was nominated for the film award Oscar in the category Best Actress nominee, Jeff Bridges for the same award in the category Best Supporting Actor . The two actors were also nominated for the Golden Globe film award. The film won the Alan J. Pakula Award of the Broadcast Film Critics Association .

Joan Allen has been nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award , the Chicago Film Critics Association Award , the Independent Spirit Award , the Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award , the Online Film Critics Society Award , the Golden Satellite Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award . Jeff Bridges was nominated for the Golden Satellite Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award . Gary Oldman was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award .

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating particularly valuable.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Certificate of Release for Character Assassination - Beyond Morality . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , May 2003 (PDF; test number: 90 647 DVD).
  2. ↑ Character Assassination - Beyond Morality. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  3. ^ Daniel Haas: Sexuality as a Political Issue on Spiegel Online from June 27, 2002
  4. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert (English)