If Jason Reitman's new movie about the failed 1988
presidential campaign of Gary Hart is about any one thing, it's that question.
At one point, Hart was the front runner for the Democratic Presidential
nomination, which based on the history of elections following 2-term president,
made him the front runner for President of the United States. His campaign was
rather infamously taken down by what amounted to be more of a tabloid scandal
than a political scandal. His story is a forgotten footnote in history now,
especially for those who didn't live through it, which makes this a perfect
story to be turned into a film.
I enjoyed the experience of watching The Front
Runner. The filmmaking is quite wonderful. Reitman excels at capturing the
hectic nature of a political campaign. Every scene has 20 different things
going on and it's a matter of what the camera or the mic decides to pick up on.
I've heard this movie compared to Robert Altman's work, which makes me want to
see Altman's movies even more now. Rather than cutting to a new shot, often the
camera just pans to a different part of the room to see what's going on there.
If the sound mixing in this movie doesn't at least earn an Oscar nomination,
then the category is a fraudulent. Reitman conducts the madness in a way that's
busy but not overwhelming. It's a mode that, based on his previous films, I
didn't know he had.
Hugh Jackman is a rather perfect choice to play Gary
Hart. Jackman, a handsome showman, highlights the inherent problem with Hart as
a candidate. Hart , young and good-looking, had the superficial appeal that
modern candidates often need to get through the door. Like Jackman, people saw
Hart and expected a lovable, camera-friendly guy. Hart isn't like Hugh Jackman
though. Hart, in the film at least, didn't care about playing to the camera. He
believed that only the ideas should matter, which is what led to his downfall.
Jackman uses his own public perception as a wonderful contrast in the film. I
don't know that he fully embodies the real Gary Hart, but he works perfectly
for the character in the movie.
The cast is honestly too large to cover everyone.
Let's just say that Reitman gets great work out of Vera Farmiga, J.K. Simmons,
and an impressive group of "TV All-Stars". Farmiga refuses to be a
helpless politician's wife. As Hart's campaign manager, Simmons has an
interesting world-weary optimism. This is the first I've noticed Molly Ephraim
in anything, and she makes a good impression here as one of Hart's aides, given
one of the less desirable tasks in the wake of his scandal. I'm being coy about
the details of what happens in the movie only because I figure you already know
what happens or would like to be surprised by it when you see it play out.
I'd like to get back to the central question of the
movie though. How did we get here? The Front Runner has a lot on
its mind and it doesn't try to simplify anything. What is the role of the
media? Should they curate the truth or should they report everything and let
the people decide what matters, even if the public makes the wrong choice? What
right to privacy do public figures have? Who should be considered public
figures? I really love how The Front Runner explores the complexities of
all these questions. By asking the questions in 1988, the movie is also asking
the questions in 2018, but not in a pointed, political way. I'm sure some of
this could be applied to the Trump era*, but really, it's something to apply to
any candidate or any news story. This is perhaps the most thought-provoking
movie I've seen this year. Except for a couple places where they hit on their
point a little too hard, it's all handled really well.
*My understanding is that the movie was being worked
on way before Trump 2016. I wasn't looking forward to this movie, because I
figured it would lay the Trump criticism on too think. I was pleasantly
surprised to see that it had more on its mind than that.
I guess my problem with the movie is that questions
are easier than answers. It's easy to point out all the things that are wrong
with the system. Reitman's film asks really great questions and exposes a lot
of problems inherent both to the system and to the nature of technology.
Cameras and the internet changed the game in ways that I don't think people
fully appreciate. The news can't function as it did in the 1950s, even if it
wanted to. Intentionally, The Front Runner doesn't try to answer any of
its questions. That's great for taking a "both sides" look at things
that doesn't turn anyone off, but it does make me wonder what the point of the
whole film was. I wish it would've taken a stand somewhere.
I'm not sure what I wanted from The Front Runner.
I liked the movie quite a bit. I love the filmmaking and Hugh Jackman's
performance. It's a smart movie. It might be too smart, actually. It realizes
that the scope of the topic is too large and complex to cover in a single
movie. Hart's story ends up secondary to the institutions covering his story.
In a way, it's kind of perfect that once again, Gary Hart gets lost in the
discussion that he's at the center of.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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