Mary Surratt is the lone female charged as a co-conspirator in the assassination trial of Abraham Lincoln. As the whole nation turns against her, she is forced to rely on her reluctant lawyer to uncover the truth and save her life.
The slow pace and endless long shots of men walking purposefully test the patience of even the most willing viewer.
The results are intermittently preachy and starchy, better suited to stirring a classroom debate than a cinema audience.
A solid historical drama that carries a few too many political messages.
The subject at hand may be involving enough to keep you engrossed.
Robert Redford's worthiest film to date.
Quiz Show, Ordinary People – Redford is at his strongest as a director when he is at his most subtle, when he puts people first and politics second. In The Conspirator he has managed to make telling points in a handsome, well-observed fashion, but his tale of a plot could have done with more pace.
It’s just a shame Redford’s civics lesson had to be this doggedly monotonous, and so dry it could go up with the slightest spark.
This is a very stately, bland piece of work, perhaps best shown to high school history classes.
Solid costume drama.
Plays like a laborious and self-important TV movie.
A lavishly mounted but ponderously composed "lesson from history".
It unfurls as a stodgy courtroom drama, in which everyone looks like an early photograph.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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