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Amazon.co.uk Review
At the height of the 2000 election season, CBS anchor Dan Rather quipped, "The presidential race is crackling like a hickory fire." Director Jay Roach (Austin Powers) recaptures that blaze in his smart HBO docudrama about the thriller in Palm Beach County. Written by actor Danny Strong, Recount bounces between the Sunshine State, Gore's Tennessee headquarters, and Bush's Texas stomping grounds. Gore adviser Ron Klain (an excellent Kevin Spacey) provides a privileged window into those weeks when the American public first became familiar with obscure terms like "hanging chad." (Since Klain has an ax to grind with the vice president, neither he nor Gore appear completely heroic.) First, the Democratic candidate pulls ahead; then he falls behind. Just as he prepares to concede, Klain's colleague, Michael Whouley (Denis Leary), spots an anomaly in the vote count, and the race continues. Enter eccentric Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern, a certain Emmy nominee), who orders a recount, and former Secretaries of State Warren Christopher (John Hurt) and James Baker III (Tom Wilkinson), who oversee a process that ends up in the Supreme Court (where Ed Begley Jr.'s David Boies represents Gore). Produced by the late Sydney Pollack, who originally intended to direct, Recount skillfully integrates news footage with dark comedy, most provided by the foul-mouthed Whouley and Bush adviser Ben Ginsberg (Bob Balaban), who's still livid about JFK's victory over Nixon. If the Democrats come across as more sympathetic, the Republicans come across as more colorful--and strategically effective. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Synopsis
An all-star cast heads this gripping look at the 2000 presidential election and its aftermath. Hanging chads, uncounted votes, and a controversial Supreme Court decision elected President George W. Bush in one of the most contested elections in American history. By turns hilarious and tragic, Recount follows the central players on both sides of the aisle--including Al Gore's former Chief of Staff, Ron Klaine (Kevin Spacey); Republican advisor James Baker (Tom Wilkinson); and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris (Laura Dern)--as they vie to determine the next President of the United States. Using real-life footage and actual dialogue, this political drama offers an illuminating recount of one of the defining moments of the 21st century.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling - the tale of a flawed system,
By Ben Bottle (Gloucestershire) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Recount (HBO Films) [DVD] (DVD)
I am writing this having seen the More 4 showing of this "Docu-Drama".
It is an engrossing film with sterling performances from the lead roles, particularly Tom Wilkinson as James Baker - a stunning performance from this excellent actor. Of course Kevin Spacey shines as does John Hurt. It is all about the debacle of the 2000 presidential election between George Bush Jnr and Al Gore - specifically the "Florida Fiasco" where the vote count was deemed erroneous and all manner of things "hit the fan"! The pace a quick and the script is keen and tight; there are shades of West Wing here. More than anything - this records the flawed electorial system of one of the most powerful countries on earth. Interesting, intriguing and thought provoking - I look forward to the DVD and the absence of the all too frequent adverts!!! It will be great to view it in one piece.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done Kevin Spacey & John Hurt !,
By
This review is from: Recount (HBO Films) [DVD] (DVD)
This is great ! I bet James Baker never thought that he would be so expertly depicted on screen ! The twists and turns keep the viewer captivated to say the least. Kevin Spacey & John Hurt are very good indeed and this effort is a compelling piece of political drama that makes House of Cards look like Yes Minister ! The reason I say that is not a lack of respect for either the late Paul Eddington or the late Ian Richardson - far from it ! They played their parts in those shows superbly. Recount is better because it is based on what really happened and that gives it for obvious reasons a more realistic cutting contemporary edge. All the legal antics do not obscure the very real human drama as the Two-Americas Democrat ( metro) and Republican ( retro ) slug it out. One can see that Al Gore was unfairly treated - but if he had lost the popular vote but got 270 or more on the electoral college would he have minded - I doubt it ! But equally George W Bush lost the popular vote by about 500,000 and so did not really have a mandate to do much of what he did in his first term. The TV networks kept calling Florida for Gore while knowing that Bush was ahead in that state - one wonders if they where trying to depress the GOP vote to save Gore from losing this election ? But what did stink was the courts ordering recounts then suspending them and then saying they could not complete them in time while seeing people being blocked from voting by having a criminal record ascribed to them when they had not broken the law once. That was very unfair to say the least ! However trying to disenfranchise the military vote was a disgrace on the part of the Democrats - as if their defense cuts under Clinton where not enough of an insult.
One thing is clear that the biggest loser of the Florida recount was Saddam Hussein. Whatever you thought about the Iraq War the moment that things where finally sorted out in that swing state the Iraqi Dictator was on borrowed time. This film proves that politics is a dirty business and that neither side comes out of the proceedings looking very good given the tactics that they resorted to and the hypocrisy that they came out with. To say it was ordinary folk demanding an end to the recounts was nonsense - the GOP just stirred up a few of their own people to create that false impression. Recount is expertly written and the cast rise to an awesome challenge but to perfection. The locations & filming are spot on. Amazon as per-usual are treating their customers very well by offering to deliver it to your door for less than the recommended retail price.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Recount,
By
This review is from: Recount (HBO Films) [DVD] (DVD)
Who would have thought a film about an election count could be so engrossing and dramatic but it is. The film is a fascinating insight into how the Americans conduct their elections. After watching the film I thanked God that our electoral system is so straightforward compared to theirs. Here you just put a cross against the name of your preferred candidate and Bob's your uncle but not in the good old US of A who like to complicate things with technology. Apparently there are many Democrats to this day who think that election was stolen from Gore by Bush but they eventually got their revenge when Abama came to power in the last election and the Republicans were defeated.
The film gathers pace and the excitement increases as first Gore appeared to be the winner and then Bush but the result is disputed because the difference in their votes is so close and the verdict of the electorate in Florida could have been influenced by defects in the punch cards that voters pierce when they cast their votes. Because there was no clear undisputed winner the Americans do what they do best and both parties bring in an army of lawyers but even then there are many hassles before the final verdict is given. All the performances in the film are great, especially by the ever reliable Kevin Spacey and I would like to think that the British could do a similar fine job with regard to our elections but I doubt it.
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