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September 22, 2006 > Arts & Entertainment > Zallian’s Men cannot hold together long

Zallian’s Men cannot hold together long

By Matthew McKee | Thresher Editorial Staff

An honest politician shows up about as often as a rhino in Dixie. Southern politicians are infamous for doing most of their business under the table. In case the news flash needs repeating, politics corrupts. Sometimes it kills — never take integrity into a senate chamber. It will not come out unscathed.

It might be this easy to sum up the theme of All the King’s Men, but it is difficult to come near the amount of repetition the film gives these ideas. Just how many times do viewers need to see progressive ideals and good men trampled by unscrupulous government? All the King’s Men — the remake of the 1949 Oscar winner of the same name and an adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel — beats to death the same tired lessons in a familiar southern drawl.

First came the evil politicians. Sean Penn (Mystic River) stars as Willie Stark, a rural man who builds a grassroots movement to become governor of Louisiana. Stark seems like a good man at the beginning of the film, but his position as governor distorts his originally noble ideals and convinces him that any ends justify the dirty means. Ruining his own life and the lives of everyone around him, Stark sets a grim example.

All the King’s Men holds on to its viewers because they want to see just how badly things will become for Stark, but even morbid interest can only hold on to an audience for so long. In All the King’s Men politics destroys absolutely everything, and this one-note tune starts to hurt the ears after two hours.

The film’s musical score — written by James Horner — becomes a second dead horse for the film to beat. Horner’s days of yore with Titanic are over, and he emulates Klaus Badelt’s uninspiring score from Pirates of the Caribbean by featuring one melodramatic melody throughout the film. While this might seem like a small bone to pick with a movie full of more important flaws, it emphasizes how formulaic parts of All the King’s Men are. The musical theme tires out after two run-throughs, and the movie gives us about a dozen.

All the King’s Men relies on the few facial expressions Jude Law (Cold Mountain) can make, and, unfortunately, Law runs out of grimaces quickly. He seems to have a deck of four emotions, and he shuffles between them haphazardly. Law plays a reporter named Jack Burden who becomes Stark’s lackey at the cost of his personal life. Unsurprisingly, Law cannot carry the part. He spoils well-written dialogue with a flat delivery and fails to find chemistry across from the film’s female leads.

Despite these frustrating facets, All the King’s Men has a lot going for it. Penn gives a solid performance that includes dramatic and desperate speeches on the steps of the Louisiana state capitol building. He pulls off the transformation from humble country hick to cocky politician well, making up for Law’s sub-par acting.

Writer and director Steven Zaillian, who penned the classic screenplay for Schindler’s List, chose dialogue that keeps the political downfalls interesting. Zaillian directed a story that slows down a bit too much in places but also suffers the “took-too-much-from-the-book syndrome.” The plot feels overburdened at times, mostly because it wants politics to touch every single part of Burden’s life. Some will fall asleep before the over-the-top ending, which predictably ties up everything and manages to satisfy.

Forgiving All the King’s Men its obvious irritations, viewers can enjoy the film as an extended political drama with a solid script and famous faces. The fiction feels grounded in the cold reality of politics because it is. The original novel was at least partially based on ’30s Louisiana politician Huey Long. It is too bad C-SPAN does not cover stories like this.

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