{"id":6366,"date":"2018-11-19T08:14:59","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T15:14:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6366"},"modified":"2018-11-19T08:14:59","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T15:14:59","slug":"review-the-front-runner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=6366","title":{"rendered":"Review: THE FRONT RUNNER"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this handsomely produced drama, director Jason Reitman works with Hugh Jackman to explore that moment when covering politics became tabloid journalism.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"\"\"Does a leader\u2019s personal life matter? The old saying goes that if a man can\u2019t stay true to his spouse, who\u2019s to say he will stay true to his nation. In the late 1980s, popular Democrat Senator Gary Hart naively believed that the press would ignore the stories of his infidelity. Maybe it wasn\u2019t naivety, rather, maybe it was arrogance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Front Runner\u201d gets the time and place down perfectly. Shot on 35mm film with vintage lenses, everything looks exactly right. When the action moves to Florida, you can almost feel the humidity. And when Hart announces his campaign in the mountains of Colorado, there is a fresh crispness in the air. Into those authentic settings are placed the seedy events that brought down the Democrat hopeful. The problem with the story, I think, is that what happened just isn\u2019t seedy enough for cinematic treatment. By today\u2019s standards, this old scandal seems tame\u2014Weiner, anyone?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Charting Hart\u2019s first presidential campaign loss to Vice President Walter Mondale in 1984, we see Hart (Hugh Jackman) forming into an experienced policy wonk. A forward-thinking, good-looking guy with modern ideas, he was dubbed the \u201cAtari Democrat.\u201d Immersed in ideology and specific policy positions, we see him spending hours drafting speeches with his advisors and making last second changes to speech copy. He\u2019s informed. He\u2019s smart. He\u2019s, also, terribly flawed. His wife, Lee (Vera Farmiga), is by his side during key press events, but privately, there\u2019s a bit of distance between them. Sure, Hart plays the husband and father role, but his mind and maybe his heart is elsewhere.<\/p>\n

It is not a spoiler to reveal that Hart\u2019s turning point is an affair with Donna Rice. That relationship, uncovered early during the Democrat primary, effectively ended Hart\u2019s campaign in May of 1987. And in the film, we see the boat, aptly named \u201cMonkey Business,\u201d on which he is said to have met Rice. But for some reason, we never see the photograph aboard that Miami yacht that precipitated in his downfall. Recently, it has been revealed that the entire thing might have been a set-up, a political hit job that preyed on Hart\u2019s weakness for women. Also, not covered in the film is the fact that Hart did get back into the race in December of that year only to withdraw again. Was this another display of arrogance? Or more naivety?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hart is played by Hugh Jackman. Early, he seems to adopt a perfect accent and manner as the infamous politician. But as the film progresses, he just becomes Jackman. An extremely likable leading man, Jackman can carry a film, even, as here, a lesser one. But his charisma is impossible to diminish, especially, when the role requires him to be wounded. And because he really never looks bad, ever, on camera (okay, maybe in \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d and parts of \u201cLogan\u201d), the script has to work extra hard to make us feel his character\u2019s pain.<\/p>\n

And making us see Hart devolve as the affair destroys his political ambitions proves to be a high hurtle. The story never gets dirty enough. And even as Hart is shaken by the stunning events, Jackman hardly loses his matinee presence and good looks. Maybe that is the point of the film. Hart looked the part even at the end, but underneath, he was all wrong. It is that underneath that we needed to see more of here.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Not given enough attention by director Reitman, who works from a script he co-wrote with two other writers, is Donna Rice (Sara Paxton), the other woman at the center of the affair. In her late 20s in 1987, Rice was forced to withdraw from public life as the press came crashing in. Her story, ironically enough, could have provided an edgier perspective. And while it\u2019s hinted at in \u201cThe Front Runner,\u201d Rice is merely given surface treatment. Worse, despite a line of dialogue that mentions her education, Rice comes off as a pretty face that was easily manipulated by Hart for his own carnal pleasures.<\/p>\n

And Lee Hart\u2019s story is equally intriguing. In an end credit sequence, we\u2019re told that she and Gary, who is now 81, are still together. And that speaks volumes about their relationship. The script tip-toes around exactly how much Lee knows about her husband\u2019s extra-marital relationships. Was there an understanding between them? Apparently, there was, however, this aspect is lightly suggested in the movie, which again undercuts the potential for a more complex and gritty story.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What we get with \u201cThe Front Runner\u201d is a one line comment on political history. In 1987, the personal life of a candidate became the big story. Infidelity took down a potential President. The mechanisms and procedures hastening his demise are on display, but we aren\u2019t given any suggestion why Hart made such a reckless decision. Was it the old ways that such a forward-thinking, modern candidate wanted to take advantage of? Possibly, but Reitman keeps us at a distance from Hart the man, and instead giving us the image with little of substance uncovered beneath.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Front Runner\u201d blandly covers a footnote in political history, without giving us a clear perspective that allows the viewer to make sense of Hart\u2019s key character flaws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Playing it safe, director Reitman makes us appreciate the time but not the man and his flaws.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[1029,1030,1031,1032,1033,1034,1035,1036,1037,1038],"class_list":["post-6366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-atari-democrat","tag-donna-rice","tag-gary-hart","tag-hugh-jackman","tag-jason-reitman","tag-lee-hart","tag-monkey-business","tag-sara-paxton","tag-the-front-runner","tag-vera-farmiga","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}