US Presidential Race : Recount (2008)
A Timely Look at the Events Leading to the Dubya Bush Presidency
Nov 2, 2008
With the 2008 US Presidential race approaching its climax, the UK's Channel 4 ithis week aired Recount; a look back at the events preceding the inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd President of the United States in 2000. The whole world knew of voting irregularities which suggested doubt over the result in the state of Florida and which could have tipped the balance back towards the Democrat candidate, Al Gore. This film explores those events from the perspective of both Republican and Democrat campaigns. Interestingly, any role that Bush's brother, Jeb, may have played as Governor of Florida is largely ignored. It focuses instead on the laughable character of Katherine Harris, the Secretary of State, in whose hands nominal power over the counts, recounts and State election results lay.
Strong Casting Needed For Strong Characters
The cast is wonderful with Kevin Spacey leading as Ron Klain, Gore's spurned Chief of Staff who is drawn back into the campaign in its final stages to fight against not only the electoral issues but also the apathy within the Democrats and particularly the defeatism of Gore himself. Spacey is supported by Brit John Hurt as Warren Christopher (Klain's boss at his day job as well as Clinton's former Secretary of State). Dennis Leary brings in a significant yet subtle performance as Michael Whouley, one of the Democrat Party's strongest political strategists, and a key supporter of Klain's throughout the Florida campaign.
Fellow Brit Tom Wilkinson is the unlikely casting for the role of James Baker and it is perhaps here that the film is most revealing. Baker was crucial in driving and focussing the Republican counter-offensive. His motivation came across as less political and more driven by loyalty to long-term friend George Bush Sr., who comforted him many years before following his wife's untimely death. At first, a cold, calculating character who pursued the goal of bringing his friend's son to the White House ruthlessly; only later on revealed by Wilkinson and the script to have some emotion beyond power-seeking menace.
And The Award For Most Make-Up Goes To ........
The absolute star in terms of character and performance is that of Laura Dern as Katherine Harris. Dern's portrayal of this shallow woman is remarkable - you want to know more. Can such a personality - with so little political awareness, zero courage, immense ego and and an insatiable need to apply make-up - really exist ? The film steers carefully through its scenes of this woman and manages to avoid creating a comic pastiche, but only just.
So This Is Politics
Perhaps more to a non-US audience, the film is both scary and sad. Aside from wondering how different a place we would inhabit had Bush not become President, the audience can be forgiven for feeling a little naive that these tricks would shamelessly take place in one of the world's most powerful democracies. Written by Danny Strong and produced by Spacey, the film was nominated for 9 Emmy Awards, winning 3. As a sobering view of the slings and arrows of the political process, and US politics in particular, the film is recommended - especially as it serves as a fascinating backdrop to the current Presidential race in the USA.
