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Journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law)
is narrating his stint five years earlier with Willie Stark (Sean Penn). Willie ran against political elites and won the governatorial election by a large margin in the state
of Louisiana. Shortly after Jack's resignation as a highly-regarded journalist of a big newspaper company, Willie Stark offered him a job to work for him of
which Jack immediately accepted. And since then became the influential assistant and emissary of Stark in approaching people for positions in his government
and even those in the opposition. This scheme did not spare Jack's friends Adam (Mark Ruffalo) and Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet) and surrogate father Irwin (Anthony Hopkins).
Stark became the champion of the people especially the poor but actually he is just as corrupt as his political opponents. How far can Stark go in his
political game and so with Jack Burden as an assistant?
There is obviously a power casting which is a strong point of the film because actingwise it gives
justice to the characters regardless how prominent or almost unnoticeable the character is. Sean Penn is good in dramatizing the agony of the people in his political speeches. The
film is actually rich in details and symbolisms that may be for viewers' better appreciation, but the pacing is a bit dragging for a run of over two hours that may not
surprisingly invite viewers to sleep. The cinematography is good in capturing the feelings and the mood set for the film. While the musical score and the sound
complement the production designs to have a perfect setting of the 1950s.
All the King's Men showcases a political scene where key players are equally contributing to the
fate of a corrupt politician vis-a-vis the government and the people he is serving. The film clearly teaches moral lessons to the viewers--politicians, business people, press
people, poor and vulnerable ones--which are to give dignity to public service, to say no to graft and corruption, and to appreciate the value of life.
(Date Reviewed: 07 December 2006)
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