Monday, August 4, 2008

The Justices

Author(s): Alex
Location: Washington State

“The Justices”

Directed by Jonathan Demme
Written by Stephen Gaghan
Music by James Horner

Principal Cast:

Allison Janney (Lindsay Paulson)
Hal Holbrook (Dr. Leo Jackson)
Matt Damon (Freddy O’Brian)
Robert Redford (Daniel Paulson)
Felicity Huffman (Melissa Hart)
Rob Lowe (Dan Hart)
Glenn Close (Senator Lauren Wood)
Kevin Spacey (Sheriff Perry)
Timothy Busfield (Alex Rudolph)
Morgan Freeman (Chief Justice King)
Anne Archer (Justice Clark)
Martin Sheen (Justice O'Brian)
Gene Hackman (Justice Stark)
Ben Kingsley (Justice Ryan)
Susan Sarandon (Justice Grey)
Alan Alda (Justice Cross)
Christopher Plummer (Justice Stevens)
Sally Field (Justice Bennett)
John Malkovich (conspiring Senator)
Jodie Foster (conspiring Senator)
Chris Cooper (conspiring Senator)

Tagline: "“Nine of the United State’s most powerful people will be assassinated. There’s only one person who can stop it.”

Synopsis: It’s late at night and congressional secretary Lindsay Paulson is working late. What she hears next will change her life for ever. Three United States Senators are planning the simultaneous assassination of all nine Supreme Court Justices. When she tells her boss, Senator Lauren Wood, about this she is fired on the spot and is made to look like a lunatic around Washington by Wood. She is then forced to move in with her sister and her husband, Melissa and Bill Hart. Since no one will listen to her, she decides to go on deep background with a reporter, Freddy O’Brian. It doesn’t take long for the conspiring Senators to find out she's the leak reporting to Damon. Their way of shutting her up is shooting Melissa, Bill, and Alex Rudolph (O’Brian’s editor) in the head. They then bribe the DC Sheriff Perry into naming Lindsay the prime suspect. Although her father, Daniel Paulson, tells her to turn herself in and explain everything to the police, she drives to Boston to see Dr. Leo Jackson. Jackson is Lindsay's former political science professor and confidant. She gets advice from him on what to do next. He says that she should stop the assassination by whatever means necessary. She then heads back to DC with a vengeance. She is determined to make sure that none of the justices are killed, and tries to find out more about the assassination, and she does. Who will live? Who will die? To find out, you have to see “The Justices”.

What the press would say:

Jonathan Demme creates the best political thriller since the original “Manchurian Candidate”. He takes this epic on a whirlwind journey of suspense from the time the theatre lights dim to the time the credits roll. He is a former Academy Award winner and this will surely get him another Oscar on his shelf. Four-time Emmy Award winner Allison Janney gives the most striking and powerful performance of the year as Lindsay Paulson. She dominates the screen with an enormous presence and I’m absolutely sure she will get an Oscar to keep her Emmys from getting lonely. Hal Holbrook, an extremely overlooked actor who played the part of Deep Throat in “All the President’s Men”, gives a fabulous performance as Dr. Leo Jackson, the genius and some times twisted confidant of Janney’s character. He is spellbinding and will not be overlooked come Oscar night. Oscar nominee Felicity Huffman gives a performance that you are just bound to fall in love with. Providing the film with a slight sense of humor, she plays the lovable younger sister to Janney. Stephen Gaghan provides and intense screenplay that in years to come will come to be seen as one of his greatest works. Come Oscar night, don’t be surprised to see some nominations (and hopefully some wins) in these categories:

Best Picture
Best Director (Jonathan Demme)
Best Actress (Allison Janney)
Best Supporting Actor (Hal Holbrook)
Best Supporting Actress (Felicity Huffman)
Best Original Screenplay (Stephen Gaghan)
Best Original Score (James Horner)
Best Cinematography

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