A highly regarded political satire, a mixture of Hollywood liberal wish fulfilment and documentary realism. Robert Redford is one of those wet dream candidates - handsome, smart, idealistic, a man who cares, Democrat royalty, working as a legal aid lawyer. He is tapped to run for Congress in a race that no one thinks he'll win so he can say anything he wants (which doesn't strike me as realistic but maybe I'm wrong).
I was in two minds about this. On one hand it felt over-rated because Redford's character is such a cypher - we never get a sense of what makes him tick, what drives him. You might go "well that's the point" but it isn't because he's clearly a man of achievement. I would have liked to know a bit more about his relationship with his father (Melvyn Douglas), who is reluctant to endorse him, and wife (Karen Carlson, from The Student Nurses) who is all for it. Redford's performance doesn't fill in the blanks, either - he's very handsome and charismatic but not a great public speaker. There's no Aaron Sorkin type arias or Gore Vidal wisecracks.
However what does make this special is the sense of verisimilitude about it - the script writer was heavily experienced in American politics and is shows: the back room shenanigans, meeting people on the campaign trial (a sexy groupie who strokes his hand, a dazzling encounter with Natalie Wood, running into a crazy druggie talking about his dog, people who throw water at him), the workers doing stuff on ads. Michael Ritchie really directs it well. It is a film worth watching I was just a bit disappointed considering all the raves I've heard about it.
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