James McAvoy (Actor), Robin Wright (Actor), Robert Redford (Director) | Format: DVD
1,142% Sales Rank in Movies & TV: 129 (was 1,603 yesterday) 
(17)Release Date: August 16, 2011
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If there's a theme running through Robert Redford's directorial career, it's the drive for social justice. When even one person receives unfair treatment, everyone suffers (like the family in his Oscar-winning Ordinary People). Even school kids are familiar with the fate of Abraham Lincoln, but the ensuing trial has received less attention--and perfectly illustrates Redford's concerns. After the assassination, John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) met his maker, leaving his coconspirators to answer for their attempts on the lives of the president, vice president, and secretary of state. Senator Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) charges Civil War general-turned-attorney Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) with the defense of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), who ran the boarding house in which the men, including her missing son (Johnny Simmons), used to meet. Though no evidence links Mary to their crimes, judge advocate Joseph Holt (Danny Huston) believes justice should trump fairness, stating, "At times of war, the law falls silent." Though Aiken assumes that his Southern client would welcome revenge against the Union, he aims to represent her fairly, even if that means appealing to a jury of Northerners and dealing with unreliable witnesses. A man of principle, he gives it his all, even convincing Mary's daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) to testify to facts her mother would prefer to keep private. The outcome would lead to legal reforms that are with us today, making for a film with contemporary relevance that remains, nonetheless, somewhat dramatically inert. As a plea for equal protection, however, it's quite affecting. --Kathleen C. Fennessy Read more
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