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Mnemosyne
Reviews
The Politician's Wife (1995)
So prescient it's eerie ...
Watching this miniseries, you might think it's a thinly veiled version of the Lewinsky scandal, but they made this British miniseries several years before the scandal broke. (I saw it when it was first aired on PBS here in Los Angeles and I kept having strange flashbacks to it throughout the impeachment hearings.) Not only do you have the blonde scorned wife (Juliet Stevenson -- amazing!) and the young brunette political intern (Minnie Driver), but it all unravels due to the lies that the politician tells his wife. The first half is her finding out exactly what's going on, and the second half is her Machiavellian revenge.
The War Room (1993)
How to sell a president
This is the perfect movie to watch pre-elections -- it reminds those of us who voted for Clinton in 1992 why he seemed to be the answer to our prayers, and introduces us to the men who made us believe that. It's not really about Clinton -- the heroes are James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who work in the "war room" in Little Rock, Ark., and coordinate the campaign. Even the most cynical anti-Clintonite will admit that Carville and Stephanopoulos are sincere in their belief in Clinton's policies and in the man himself. The best scene comes towards the end on Election Day, when Carville begins talking to himself, composing a concession speech for Clinton.
The film is so focused on the Clinton campaign that if you don't know ahead of time that Carville and Mary Matalin, who appears as the Bush campaign spokeswoman, got married after the campaign, her scenes might seem a little out of place ... at least until the sight of him whisking her away on a romantic weekend trip during the course of the campaign jogs your memory.
The Whole Wide World (1996)
A beautiful mess
Half the time I was watching it, I was criticizing the writing, since the decisions the characters make throughout the film seem awfully quick and even arbitrary. But through the great performances of Renee Zellweger and Vincent D'Onofrio -- and like a good Robert E. Howard story -- it all comes together and packs a solid punch at the end. I have very little tolerance for "heart-tugging" moments in films, but this one had me BAWLING at the end, not just misty-eyed. Just remember -- like all great love stories, this film does not end
The Walking Dead (1936)
An overlooked and eerie minor classic
Michael Curtiz directed this odd combination of gangster and horror films for Warner Bros. Karloff is a minor gangster released from prison who is framed and executed for murder. He's brought back to life when his name is cleared and confronts each of the men who framed him with his knowledge from beyond the grave. The execution scene is absolutely excruciating, as the only witnesses to the crime try to get the corrupt governor to call in a pardon while the music-loving Karloff walks to the electric chair, accompanied by a cello.