 Movie Review:
All the King’s Men
Production Company: Columbia Pictures
Director: Steve Zaillian
Cast: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, Anthony Hopkins
Rating: PG-13 for an intense sequence of violence, sexual content and partial nudity
By Gregg Tubbs
(UMC.org)—Robert Penn Warren’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1946 novel, All the King’s Men, is one of the greatest works of American fiction, and inspired an Academy Award-winning film version in 1949. Sean Penn and an all-star cast tackle a new version of this classic about the seamy machinations of Louisiana politics and the rise and fall of a man of the people, corrupted by the seductive lure of power. Who would want to tamper with an American classic and why now? Other than the obvious answer—that it’s clearly Oscar bait—the remake of this classic reminds us why the most important words of prayer for any leader have to be, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
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Sean Penn and an all-star cast tackle a new version of this classic about the seamy machinations of Louisiana politics and the rise and fall of a man of the people, corrupted by the seductive lure of power.
Copyright © 2006 Columbia Pictures. |
Let me say this up front: this version of All the King’s Men is far from definitive. The members of the stellar cast, from Sean Penn to the usually dependable Anthony Hopkins, struggle to fill roles for which they are essentially unsuited and whose star status works against their believability in this setting. The bracing 1949 version, which won the Best Picture Oscar, relied on a journeyman cast and earned Oscars for both Broderick Crawford, who played Willie Stark, and Mercedes McCambridge in the role of Sadie Burke. But the material wins out. As they say, a lesser Hamlet is better than no Hamlet, and All the King’s Men is an American Hamlet—a story of such power and universal insight that any interpretation delivers riches.
The novel, by Robert Penn Warren (America’s first Poet Laureate), was inspired by the life of Louisiana’s colorful, populist governor Huey Long. It portrays the life of a small town politician, Willie Stark, a self-professed “hick” determined to represent his fellow hicks if they will unite and elect him governor. Sean Penn brings ferocious energy to his Stark, playing him as a strutting little bulldog who stands up to the corrupt political bosses who have attempted to use him to split the working class vote and assure a victory for their own wealthy, elitist candidate. Pledging to “nail up” all the tycoons who have run the state as their own personal treasure chest at the expense of the poor, Stark pulls off a landslide victory, making powerful enemies along the way. His greatest threat, however, turns out to be his own success.
All the King’s Men is almost a textbook tragedy, and like a classic Greek tragedy, has an interpretive chorus, represented by newspaper reporter and Stark advisor Jack Burden (Jude Law). Through Burden’s narration, filled with author Warren’s rich poetry, we not only follow Stark's improbable rise and inevitable fall, but we also plumb Burden’s character, tracing his descent into disillusionment and cynicism.
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Like a classic Greek tragedy, All the King's Men has an interpretive chorus, represented by newspaper reporter and Stark advisor Jack Burden (Jude Law).
Copyright © 2006 Columbia Pictures. |
Stark begins with the best of intentions, promising to champion the “little man” by building roads, bridges, schools and hospitals for the benefit of the powerless and disenfranchised of Louisiana. But like all tragic heroes, Stark has a fatal flaw—ambition. Over time, securing each new boon for his constituents becomes more about adding to his power and popularity. The longer he stays in the political arena, the more he becomes indistinguishable from the political bosses he once swore to “nail up.” As he becomes more corrupt and unscrupulous, Stark’s true moral failing is revealed. Asked how he can justify employing such cutthroat tactics to do good for the people, he declares, “All great men must rise above their principles.” In other words, the ends justify the means.
Whether deluded or simply cynical, Stark’s moral destruction by seductive power is complete. While Stark destroys others to stay in power, there are always those willing to help in order to attach themselves to his power. The tragedy of Burden’s corruption is perhaps the deepest. He betrays loved ones for Stark, simultaneously hating himself yet paradoxically unable to stop.
Although it is set in the 1950s in Louisiana, the universal themes of All the King’s Men transcend time and place. One can easily see reflections of current political figures in the slippery maneuvering of Stark as he desperately clings to power—all the while claiming that his actions are for the good of the people. Early in the film, he tells an audience that the old political bosses fooled them once but they “won’t get fooled again.” By the end of the film, I could only think of the last lines of the song of the same name by The Who: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” How true. Fooled again.
Study Questions:
- Were you familiar with the novel or earlier film All the King’s Men? If so, how does this version compare in your view? Did updating the story from the Great depression to the 1950s affect the meaning, and if so, how?
- Why do you think author Robert Penn Warren called his story All the King’s Men? Willy Stark achieved a high position, but fell from it. How does his story resemble the well-known Mother Goose rhyme, Humpty Dumpty?
- Discuss the theme of power—how and why it corrupts—particularly in the case of Willie Stark. Then discuss how Jesus used the power and authority given to him in contrast to how others expected him to use it (i.e. his self-sacrificial life versus the kind of political Messiah people expected).
- What was your first impression of Willy? Was he a good man? Was he a Christian man?
- How did your feelings about Stark change over the course of the film? Was his fall inevitable or could things have turned out differently? At what point might he have turned back or made a different decision that would have changed the course of his life?
- Was a life like Willy Stark’s worth it? He achieved much and received much, but at a cost. What did he lose in the process? (See Luke 9:25.)
- Why do you think the Judge killed himself? Was it because he so ashamed of his actions or because he wanted to stop Stark from using him once and for all?
- Why do you think Jack Burden betrayed the Judge? Did he believe he was doing the right thing, or was he mired too deeply in Stark’s corruption?
- Willy believed that we make up the categories of what’s “good” and “bad.” Do you agree? Where do you learn about what’s good and what’s bad?
What did you make of the scene where Stark and Burden discuss “the wink?” Was Stark as innocent in the beginning as he appeared or was he always driven by an unscrupulous ambition?
Gregg Tubbs is a freelance writer living in Columbia, Md.
This review was developed by UMC.org, the official online ministry of The United Methodist Church.
Resources
Official All the King's Men Web site
Theatrical Trailer
QuickTime
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