Absolute Power (1997)

Some things I liked some I did not.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Available on Blu-ray Disc (Region B)USA 1996 English (Colour); Thriller/Drama (Castle Rock/Malpaso); 121 minutes (15 certificate)Crew includes: Clint Eastwood (Director); William Goldman (Screenwriter, adapting Novel by David Baldacci **** [8/10]); Clint Eastwood, Karen Spiegel (Producers); Tom Rooker (Executive Producer); Jack N. Green (Cinematographer); Henry Bumstead (Production Designer); Joel Cox (Editor); Lennie Niehaus (Composer)Cast includes: Clint Eastwood (Luther Whitney), Gene Hackman (President Alan Richmond), Ed Harris (Seth Frank), Laura Linney (Kate Whitney), Scott Glenn (Bill Burton), Dennis Haysbert (Tim Collin), Judy Davis (Gloria Russell), E.G. Marshall (Walter Sullivan)"Corrupts absolutely."Whilst robbing a philanthropic billionaire's mansion, an ageing career thief (Eastwood) secretly witnesses a drunken sexual assault, shooting and organised cover-up involving the US President (Hackman), and must subsequently evade capture by the police, assassination by the president's aides, and somehow prove his innocence having himself become the prime murder suspect.Goldman's unhurried, pared-down adaptation of Baldacci's engrossing bestseller neglects the novel's protagonist in favour of Eastwood's charismatic jewel thief, turning this cat-and-mouse political thriller into an engaging star vehicle for the film's producer/director.The first-rate supporting cast includes Harris as the empathetic cop on the case, Linney as Eastwood's estranged daughter, and Davis as Hackman's volatile chief of staff.Blu-ray Extras: None. ½ (1/10)

Eastwood stars as an aging thief that breaks into a mansion to steal from a safe, and accidentally witnesses President Gene Hackman engaging in rough sex with a woman that the Secret Service end up killing. White House Chief of Staff Judy Davis tries to disguise the crime scene as a robbery, but Eastwood makes off with a key piece of evidence. The whole thing plays out like a very silly thriller with Eastwood dodging the Secret Service and investigating detective Ed Harris while simultaneously trying to reconcile with estranged daughter Laura Linney. This is a pretty dumb film that happens to have a fairly amazing cast (Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert, E.G. Marshall and Richard Jenkins also show up), probably because of Eastwood's involvement. They don't manage to make the ridiculous plot any better, but they make the film more watchable than it has any right to be.

Continuing my plan to watch every Clint Eastwood movie in order I come to Absolute Power (1997)Plot In A Paragraph: Luther Whitney (Eastwood) a career thief witnesses a horrific crime involving the U.S. President (Gene Hackman).At 67, Clint was clearly slowing down now. This was released 2 years after his last movie (The Bridges Of Madison County) and that followed 2 years after A Perfect World. For a man who often released several movies a year, this was quite a change of pace.It's a bit of a mixed bag this one, the disguises (Master of disguise) Clint uses are not very good and some of it's not very logical, but the acting raises it above average. Absolute Power's awesome acting ensemble includes Gene Hackan, Scott Glenn Scott, E.G Marshall (in his last role) and the ever reliable Ed Harris and they are all great. One of the things I noticed rewatching this is how parenting and fatherhood in particular, proved a key theme as in A Perfect World, and like several other Eastwood characters Whitney follows his own personal code. He is a thief, but he has a sense of honour. This is partially what makes him a sympathetic character alongside his good sense of humour and his apparent avoidance of needless violence. Absolute Power was not a box office success. The movie earned a total domestic box office gross of $50 million to end 1997 as the 38th highest grossing movie of the year.

After reading David Baldacci's "Absolute Power", I was really looking forward to seeing the film.However it bears no resemblance whatsoever to the book. No Jack Graham AT ALL, in fact non of the legal team get a mention, which was one of the best bits of the book.The sex/rape/fight/murder scene at the beginning is pathetic! Luther doesn't get killed!!, central to the book story line! Typical American - Hollywood rubbish.If Hollywood feels the American audience cannot or will not take hard, gritty and sometimes not pleasant viewing/story lines, then stop making films, especially ones that ruin great books!! Absolute Power? ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!!