6/10
Accomplished, refined: pretty dull.
3 March 2004
William Hurt plays Gubernatorial candidate William Blake, in the final days of his election campaign. Nigel Hawthorne is Kim Mennaker, a svengali figure from Blake's childhood, who lives in Cuba for some reason, and has evidence which can sink Blake's election chances. Actually, by halfway through the movie, half of Missouri seems to have this evidence, and why nobody actually uses it is about as bewildering as why Hurt wanders about all night with a monkey on his shoulder, which he had previously complained had urinated all over him - unless that's a pun on a monkey for his back.

As usual, William Hurt is boring (look, I'm sorry, but he just is). Nigel Hawthorne, on the other hand, is incapable of being less than good, though his character is really quite ridiculous.

An understated movie, which, I admit, has emotional subtleties and plot complexities which keep it above average, but which ultimately don't save it from being a bit soporific. I'll give it 6.0. Worth watching, but don't expect to be dazzled.
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