THE FRONT RUNNER : Official Reviews (SPOILERS )

[jo]

This is probably the kind of review that Jason Reitman and his " ridiculously talented" cast would like to read

www.cinemablend.com/reviews/2458296/the-front-runner-review

The Front Runner tells a well documented, but not often talked about, story with a propulsive, electrifying result. It's as entertaining as it is informative.

As awards season starts to rear its head, and the festival fallout reaches the various publications of the internet, talk of who will make it to the big show is going to undoubtedly start up sooner rather than later. Jason Reitman's The Front Runner is one of those films that will enter the conversation, and with good reason, as his choice in subject matter - Gary Hart's 1988 presidential primary campaign - is the sort of subject that's a shoo-in for golden discussion. That being said, it's also a film that earns its distinction as an Oscar contender, as it's one of the best films this year has to offer.

In 1988, the political and media games changed in such a dramatic way that the shift is still felt to this day. This, roughly, was the first time a candidate's personal life was actively investigated by the press. It was the first time a party had to answer for said personal behavior, or risk defeat. And at the center of these drastic changes was Gary Hart, the presumed front runner for the Democratic presidential ticket, a young and idealistic politician who favored policy over sensationalism. Through the course of three weeks, he and the nation would become permanently changed.

The Front Runner isn't Jason Reitman's first foray into socially charged filmmaking, but it is his initial outing into the world of non-fiction adaptation. You wouldn't be able to tell though, as his co-writing / directing skills are applied to this film as effectively and viscerally as they are in the world of fiction. Rather than play the film out like a traditional biopic / historical piece, Reitman turns the story of the Hart campaign, and the three weeks that put it through the wringer, into something more lively and suspenseful. A personal history is portrayed like a suspense thriller, or even a horror film, at times in The Front Runner. The only difference is, the players are real people, and the weapons are statements, rebuttals, and denials.


It's perhaps best felt in the performances of the ridiculously talented ensemble, led by Hugh Jackman, playing the role of the Colorado senator with equal parts charming banter and gruff defense. His portrayal of Gary Hart shows a Jackman we haven't really seen on screen, as he doesn't overly play his hand in either direction of the behavioral compass. In this restraint, we're allowed to see a Hart that is not only totally believable as a candidate people would trust, but we're also allowed to decide for ourselves whether we believe him or not. Flanking him are high profile co-stars, like J.K. Simmons and Vera Farmiga; as well as younger, but equally motivated actors like Sara Paxton and Mamoudou Athie.

Refreshingly, the story of The Front Runner, written by Reitman, Matt Bai, and Jay Carson, takes that sort of balanced, wire-walk tactic, as well. The film isn't interested in lionizing its subject, nor are they interested in inducing pity for the man. What you want to see The Front Runner as is up to you, as all angles are covered. Those involved aren't looking to stir the pot towards any particular direction of the political spectrum -- rather, they're interested in the conversations that people had about politics in 1988, and the discussions they'll have as they walk out of the theater. Even films with the best political intentions can have a slant, but it takes a steady hand to tell an effective yet balanced story such as The Front Runner. The fact that they could do all of that, and still have one of the most entertaining dramas of the year, is something that deserves a round of applause.


The sign of a particularly good film based on true events is that it can thrill the audience, despite knowing the outcome. The Front Runner tells a well-documented, but not often talked about, American story with a propulsive, electrifying result. It's as entertaining as it is informative. This is also one of the most important films in our current political moment, laying out the origins of how we got to the political media complex we inhabit today. The fact that The Front Runner is as polished and entertaining as it is just makes it all the better to behold, but for every ounce of substance Reitman's film possesses, there's an equal amount of vital introspection present and accounted for.

Rating: *****

Reviewed By: Mike Reyes

[jo]

This review, rated as Positive at Rotten Tomatoes, is originally written in Spanish.


www.cinegarage.com/53911-critica-cinegarage-de-front-runner/


Here's the English translation by Google --

In a first approach it might seem that The Front Runner is a somewhat uncontrolled movie. A script written by three people including a debutante (Jay Carson), the writer of the book that now adapts to the screen (Matt Bai) and the director of the film (Jason Reitman who seems to do a lot of good to be separated from the scripts of Diablo Cody) that comes and goes from one point of view to another does not promise much in the first minutes of the movie.

In that first approach we faced Gary Hart (well-toned Hugh Jackman), the presidential candidate who led all the polls in 1988 and was emerging from very early on as the insurance winner of the elections. Gary (it's not a spoil, the film is based on a real fact) is photographed later in what seems to be an affair with a woman who is not his wife, a newspaper publishes it on his frontal plan, that becomes a scandal and Hart, as we know, never becomes President of the United States.

The Front Runner had all this as the main obstacle to follow the story in a timely manner and show how ended the political career of Hart, would walk dangerously close to the field of the count of gossip and infidelity and lose the little jewel that is hidden.

With a seemingly disinterested tone The Front Runner decides not to make a precise recount of the facts, but to use them as a platform to provoke a final reflection and that requires that the recount is not only Hart's anecdote. By opting for it, again, The Front Runner might seem like a rambling, somewhat chaotic movie, but it's not. Jason Reitman uses his extensive cast to put together the corners of a hexagon (pentagon, or square, it depends on how strict we feel) that all point to what happens to Hart and, without complicating much life (that's up to us ), give the points of view of each one of those corners.

Thus, The Front Runner places Hart in the center and then goes back and forth between what he sees a newspaper, what his assistants, his wife, himself, the rival newspaper, the members of his party detect. And it does so because Reitman's interest is behind all these points of view and since we are the only ones who can see them, he wants to let us think how those cases can be dealt with by the media (including new media, famous social networks) and how that treatment can cause a whole country to discard its best candidate without considering the consequences (in those elections the United States chose George HW Bush who in the end would be reelected to govern the country for 8 years).


The Front Runner lets those views be cooked without haste, their plans are long but hectic inside. When doing that with each of the corners that the film wants to cover ends up generating some internal suspense, a doubt arises not about the solution of the case (we all know it) but about what will happen to us, because we are the axis on which they rotate all points of view.

It is not a reinvention of the Rashomon (Japan, 1950) of Akira Kurosawa, but a reuse of the moral approach that causes to narrate a fact like this (in Rashomon it is a murder and here of a political murder) from different angles (here presented in parallel): What actually happened? Did you miss an opportunity? Is it ethical, questionable or valid to use data from a politician's personal life to question it professionally? Who did all this benefit?

Reitman decides to go a little further. In the tone that is also realistic, without using the word "destiny" in his judgments - being able to imply that the whole case was a matter of bad luck or bad timing - he puts new rhythm to his film and in the end, when the questions become increasingly incisive ("The fact that a serious newspaper has used a gossip for its front page does not mean that we should do it" is heard out there), opens the pores of the tape to insinuate with sufficient power (but never obvious) that this type of questioning of people in the public eye is often made with an unintelligent viciousness, with no practical purposes ... For anyone.

Do Reitman and The Front Runner justify Hart's behavior? No. But neither do they agree with the way the case was handled in the media and, of course, it is in discordance with the media that today do the same with even less important figures. Could today happen to anyone? Yes. To debate about it justifies the bad behavior of someone, whoever? No. But it does not justify that now private issues are manipulated in this way, without debate in between.

Quiet but meticulous is the (complex) reflection that The Front Runner places on our tables.

LEARN MORE. After this review Cinegarage of Front Runner we present the preview of Men, Women & Children, directed by Jason Reitman.

The critic notes that the movie is much deeper and more thought-provoking than how it is initially presented! Remember how some of early negative reviews viewed that directorial style to be more confusing or not deep enough?

What's notable is that this was written by someone who is not part of the American audience and may likely be sharing an outside ( not sure, but this could be a review from Mexico) but not disinterested point of view. Will it be an indicator of how the movie will be received outside of the USA?

Jo

[jo]

candidmagazine.com/the-front-runner-review/


TIFF 2018: The Front Runner
October 4, 2018
Festivals—Film + Entertainment | by Candid Magazine

It was at the foot of the incredible Rocky Mountains that provided Gary Hart with the perfect backdrop to the perfect speech. As he stood strong and committed, he captured the attention of many as he announced his running for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. In that promising moment he’d never have imagined that the very words he proclaimed to inspire the people, would soon circle back to challenge his character only weeks later.

“All of us must try to hold ourselves to the very highest standards of integrity and ethics, and soundness of judgment…”

Hugh Jackman plays his first ever non-fictional role exceptionally as Gary Hart in the The Front Runner, the well-respected family man who resided with his loving wife Lee (Vera Farmiga) and children in small town Troublesome , Colorado. Decades younger than former leader, (Ronald Reagan) a truly determined statesman with and a genuine desire to better the lives of the people; he stood with a solid lead as the front runner to win the US election.

Just weeks before the vote, there was an anonymous tip off that Hart had been rendezvousing with another woman, someone that he’d met on a boat party whilst running the campaign away in DC. When confronted by a reporter about the woman who was staying at his townhouse, Hart exploded in frenzy and denial – “Follow me around, I don’t care. If anybody wants to put a tail on me, go ahead. They’d be very bored”

He probably shouldn’t have said that really should he? Speculation reached the ears of reporters at The Miami Herald, curiosity arose and an investigative steak-out commenced, where eventually the lady in question, Donna Rice (Sara Paxton) was spotted entering his Washington abode.


News publications now obsessed with his (potential) sex scandal shifted their focus from his thriving campaign at its most integral stage to instead harassing him about his personal shenanigans. When his trustworthy colleagues begin to confront him about addressing the situation, he stood adamant that he wouldn’t rise to the press’ taunts.

It’s the shouting match between Hart and Bill Dixon (J.K. Simmons) that sees Gary at his highest defense yet, proclaiming that it’s rumors and sleaze and he won’t buckle to those attempting to destroy his political chances. It’s here that we feel like handing him a mirror, surely he wouldn’t be acting this argumentative if he’d been holding himself to the ‘highest of standards of integrity’ behind the scenes?

Matt Bai,’s book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, serves as the inspiration for this films true adaptation and director Jason Reitman has done a remarkable job in retelling the story. It’s astonishing and devastating really; that a man who could have had such an incredible impact and influence on America’s future, was unraveled within weeks from contradicting words v actions, not being able to keep his party popper in his pants.

Was it necessary though for the press to cover the speculation the way they did? Were the consequences of America’s political future considered in the moment? Did Hart’s mistake mean he’d be a lesser phenomenal leader? I mean, when you look at the headlines since this time; multiple affairs, sexual harassment and pussy grabbing, seems like whoever we elect is going to be an imperfect human. As much as it’s a damn shame he stepped out of the process, he did it for the sake of his family (tail now between his knees) whose respect he cared more about earning back than the American people’s and I admire his step back towards honesty for that.

With both strong male and female leads, (of which I totally wanted to make sure I mentioned Vera Farmiga’s work as Lee Hart, striking, stunning, fierce and brave) I’d highly recommend seeing this fascinating and insightful film this autumn. A chance to see Hugh working the American angles and of course yet another opportunity to gasp and smirk at what on earth politics has turned into since this then.

Toronto International Film Festival took place between 6th-16th September 2018.

[jo]

Scott Mendelson reviews the movie for Forbes.com --

www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2018/10/05/review-hugh-jackmans-the-front-runner-confronts-the-political-conundrum-of-our-era/#28a44cb23ba3

[jo]

This is a refreshing, insightful, ( and to me), educational analysis of the purpose of the movie and how it delivers, with resonance to later political and cultural mores! Maybe because it is written for a politics-oriented publication which is why it is the perfect channel to review the movie in the context of the past and the present!

www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/10/06/how-gary-hart-broke-the-most-important-rule-in-american-politics-221084

Cliché can be useful. A cliché gains cultural currency for a reason—a figure, an event, or even just a sentiment occurring so frequently as to become reflexive in nature. Think of the piggish, self-promoting businessman; the coolly intellectual lawyer; the aw-shucks cowboy dangling a Marlboro from his lips. There’s a reason we rely so much on cliché in politics, too: Americans like their leaders to tell them familiar, comforting stories. Even now, in 2018, the options come from a relatively proscribed menu of “proven leaders,” “outsiders” and “mavericks.”

As voters, we don’t have an outstanding track record of looking beyond this menu, or tolerating inconsistency in its elements. Hypocrisy is a cardinal sin; any number of flaws can be tolerated or overlooked as long as they fit into the narrative we’ve constructed for our leaders. This year's film The Front Runner, from director Jason Reitman along with cowriters Matt Bai (author of 2014’s All the Truth Is Out, about the scandal) and longtime Democratic operative Jay Carson, goes deep into Gary Hart’s doomed 1988 presidential campaign to document a key moment in which a sex scandal exploded a candidate’s carefully constructed narrative.

For the first half of his career, Gary Hart knew which story he wanted to tell. His first volunteering gig was with John F. Kennedy in 1960; he later attached himself to Warren Beatty and cut a dashing figure, while building his brand as a sober-minded policy wonk who would lead America forward where the Reagan Revolution looked back to an imagined 1950s idyll. Hart molded himself into a Kennedy-esque, bipartisan charmer whose head was stuffed from square jaw to perfect hair with the liberal idealism, policy know-how and technocratic wizardry of the unrealized New Frontier.

We all know which story Hart ended up telling instead. The name of the boat on which he was photographed gallivanting with model Donna Rice—“Monkey Business”—was so perfect it seems now like it can’t possibly be real. After a series of tetchy confrontations with reporters over the affairs, Hart ended his political campaign just three weeks after it began. Reitman’s film treats every beat of that doomed campaign with a searching, empathetic, individual attention. The film is a dramatization, but it resists easy narrative, feeling at times like a searching documentary in its allowance of time and perspective to even minor players.

Of course, the debate that raged at the center of the Hart scandal, and which continues to smolder to this day, is whether the events that occurred in his private life were the public’s business in the first place. The film invites obvious comparisons to today’s political environment—when the actor portraying the Washington Post’s Paul Taylor asks Hart during a climactic press conference if he’s ever committed adultery, there are audible gasps from other reporters in the room, and his campaign staff blanches,a tragicomic contrast with the easy manner in which we now discuss “boofing” and the extent to which a president’s genitalia may or may not resemble a beloved video game character.

Still, it was the Hart scandal that broke a taboo in politics that had banished politicians’ personal affairs from public discussion—even if their picadilloes were widely known by Washington elites. The extent to which that’s been a positive development is still up for debate. What’s undeniable, however, is that our capacity to move beyond cliché hasn’t evolved much in the interim. The Front Runner poses a simple question with an unsettling answer, as stated by Reitman: “You have simultaneously a moment in which the country decides ‘We want to know who these people are as human beings,’ but then also, ‘How do we get this access? And how much do we really want to know?’”


***


In The Front Runner, Hugh Jackman portrays Hart as a beautiful, tortured enigma, a one-man embodiment of 20th-century white, male excellence and hubris. It’s a surprisingly restrained performance from an actor typically known for the sort of theatric ebullience that’s suited him perfectly in Baz Luhrmann films and comic book adaptations—distant territory from the focused personal drama that’s become Reitman’s specialty. Jackman’s Hart is deeply internal, focused and articulate when discussing economics or nuclear arms policy but red and inflamed with rage, confusion, or both when forced to confront his personal shortcomings.

Reitman and his co-writers decided to tackle that enigma by building the film’s world from the outside in. “I don’t think this movie’s job is to give a singular understanding of who this person was,” said Reitman in an interview. “Rather, it’s to give the audience various opportunities to try to understand him, and through him to think about what kind of flaws they’re willing to put up with in their leaders—how much does the audience actually want to know about someone’s personal life?”

That’s probed in depth in the film, which flutters between the perspectives of the Hart campaign, the Washington Post reporters assigned to cover it and the Miami Herald team that forced an infamous confrontation over Hart’s infidelities in the back alley of his D.C. townhouse. The term “Altman-esque” is frequently misused to describe any film that bothers to delve into the psyche of more than a handful of main characters, but it’s never more appropriate than here: Reitman’s longtime cinematographer Eric Steelberg emulates 1970s auteur Robert Altman’s roving, fluid camerawork, capturing the hectic, cluttered worlds of the campaign trail and the newspaper world alike with their crosstalk and constantly shifting casts of characters.


The cumulative effect is to drive home the film’s main point: This story is more complicated than you think. Drawing from Bai’s book, it deconstructs some of the key myths of what has become our fuzzy cultural legend of the “Gary Hart scandal”: The Herald reporters who staked out Hart’s apartment weren’t responding directly to his challenge to “put a tail on” him, but were acting on an anonymous tip and used the tossed-off challengeas an ex post facto justification. The infamous photo of Hart dangling Rice on his knee on board the “Monkey Business” wasn’t published until much later than the initial scandal itself, sold to the National Enquirer by Rice’s frenemy in the Miami modeling scene… who just happened to be later revealed as the one to tip off the Herald reporters in the first place.

The film swirls and churns like this for most of its first half, grounding you fully in a smartly realized version of the 1980s that feels quintessentially of its time without lapsing into pastiche. The second half, however, is where the film narrows its focus and begins to make its key, trenchant points about our ability, or lack thereof, to parse the character of our public figures. After news of Hart’s affair with Rice breaks, we’re taken inside the meltdown of his campaign—not just Hart’s personal, futile protest against the merging of his public and private personas, but also with an all-too-rare, careful portrayal of the way in which Rice herself experienced the scandal.

Donna Rice, portrayed knowingly and empathetically by lifelong L.A. actress and singer Sara Paxton, is given a prolonged and careful look here that’s rarely afforded the “other woman” in the annals of political scandal. “Women caught in these situations are generally seen as two-dimensional, and disposable, and lack depth and perspective, particularly in this case,” Bai said in an interview.

The filmmakers resolved to treat Rice as a real human being. “People would ask me what I was going to make next, and I would say ‘Oh, I’m making a film about the Gary Hart scandal.’ And they would smile, and they’d say ‘Ohh. The boat. What was it, Monkey Business?’ And then they’d say, ‘What was her name? Donna Rice!’ And they would say it as though they were telling a joke. And every time that happened, my empathy for her grew and grew,” said Reitman.


Rice’s thoughtful portrayal is also an implicit rebuke of the extent to which narratives about “good” and “bad” men in public life are built on empty, cardboard characterizations of the women with which, or to which, their “good” or “bad” things are done. The Front Runner prioritizes a sometimes-messy, deeply individual form of storytelling over neat narrative, exemplified by its treatment of Rice. [[[In its final shot, posing Gary Hart and his wife Lee’s real-life, emotionally complicated marriage directly against the televised version of himself, the film asks the viewer which way of processing reality is actually more efficacious in the long run


***


The political question one leaves The Front Runner with, however, is simple to grasp, but hard to answer—and harder to shake. How capable are we, emotionally and intellectually, of parsing our public leaders’ private lives and the extent to which they’re any of our business? Four years after Hart’s withdrawal from the ’88 Democratic primary, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton would go through an even more viscerally tawdry round of scandal. He’d endure it for the better part of a decade, and escape as a relatively popular two-term president. The current president’s moral failings, both alleged and documented, hardly need to be recapped—not that it matters to his rump of die-hard supporters, who couldn’t care less that he now barely bothers to deny having an affair with a pornographic actress just months after the birth of his youngest son.


Why, then, was Hart felled, where figures like Clinton and Trump have been able to soldier through accusations of far worse than mere adultery? The answer to that question, unfortunately, is not so flattering to us. Clinton and Trump skated because, quite simply, adultery and scandal fit their narrative. Clinton, the wink-and-a-nudge good old boy, Trump, the takes-what-he-wants would-be Master of the Universe. They would give rote protest in public, but of course they cheated on their wives, and if you believe their accusers of sexual assault and even rape, much worse.


Hart was different. He vehemently insisted on the “Chinese wall” between his public and private affairs, and grew indignant and sanctimonious when it was challenged. He believed he still lived in, or at least had the right to live in, the world of FDR, Kennedy and LBJ, where reporters overlooked all but the most egregious examples of personal infidelity. That world changed beneath his feet, and where he saw in himself a man enacting his God-given right to deal with his demons, peccadilloes and predilections in private, others saw a hypocrite.

There's more to politics, of course, than just "narrative," which can be a crutch for pundits as much as it can for voters, but the latter category seemed to agree that Hart's scandal had exploded his credibility—although it's little-noted now, he jumped back into the '88 primary before Iowa and New Hampshire, and barely made a dent.

And over and over across the following 30 years, voters would side against Hart in this hidden metaphysical debate: better to be transparently one’s self like Clinton or Trump than to be a hypocrite, no matter the degree of moral difference in their individual violations. Archetype and cliché allow us to settle in with our public figures, to form a perverse trust in, if not their character then their consistency, whatever its relative merits.

Hart couldn’t accept that formulation, and said as much. “I guess I’ve become some kind of a rare bird, some extraordinary creature that has to be dissected by those who analyze politics to find out what makes them tick,” he said when announcing his withdrawal from the ’88 primary. “Well, I resist that. And so, then, I become cool and aloof or elusive or enigmatic or whatnot. And then the more people want to talk about me, the more I resist it, and so on.”
Compare this to Trump’s preferred animal metaphor, a line from the poem “The Snake” that he frequently recites at campaign rallies:

“‘Oh shut up, silly woman,’ said the reptile with a grin. ‘You knew damn well I was a snake before you took me in.’”

It’s an easier story to follow. In the world the Gary Hart scandal announced, it could be all we’re capable of following for quite a while.

[jo]

Reviews like this are beginning to emerge more often.


www.worldofreel.com/2018/09/jason-reitmans-timely-invigorating.html

[jo]

[jo]

[jo]

loose-lips.com/index.php/2018/10/bfi-london-film-festival-the-front-runner/

The Front Runner
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga and J.K. Simmons
Screening at LFF October 14th and 15th 2018
by Richard Hamer

A relative footnote in U.S. political history, given new resonance in the era of Trump, Twitter and 24-hour online news, The Front Runner charts the fall of 1988 Presidential Candidate Gary Hart. His confidence, charm and good political sense made him the man to beat; allegations of an extra-marital affair brought him down.

Why tell this story now? The Front Runner contends that Gary Hart was the first major casualty of a new political landscape, where cable news and tabloid sensibilities created an era of trial-by-media. It was no longer the issues that got you to power, but your ability to survive a gauntlet of personal intrusion.

Hugh Jackman delivers a career-best as the embattled Hart, expertly navigating the most interesting part of the character: He did not deny the accusations against him, he believed that they did not matter. Jackman fully embodies the frustration of a man who sees his country give into shallow sensationalism, focusing on everything except what’s important. And while its very much Jackman’s movie, he is well supported by a busy cast of advisors and journalists; most notably J.K. Simmons as campaign manager Bill Dixon. The dialogue between them all is sharp and funny, shot against chaotic, crowded backdrops that makes fast and fun what could have been dry and static.



And yet, while The Front Runner is well-made, with strong performances, it is marred by a script that struggles to articulate its own issues. Scenes focusing on Donna Rice – the woman Hart had the affair with – seek to address issues of gender power imbalance, and characterize someone who could have easily been a disposable plot device. They do important work, but fail to stick the landing: They struggle to connect to the larger picture, and feel forced as a result.
Similarly, while its overall message on the decline of the media is hugely relevant, The Front Runner fails to leave any memorable, overriding image; it quietly fades away in its over-long final third, when it should be punching to the gut. Ultimately, Hart’s own words – “I tremble for my country when I think we may, in fact, get the kind of leaders we deserve” – carry far more resonance than any of the thousands of made-up words in the script that surround it.


But there is a lot to like here: Hugh Jackman does the business in his first major dramatic work post-Logan, and while The Front Runner isn’t destined to be a classic, Jason Reitman presents an artfully shot, quick-witted political drama that is never less than enjoyable.

Yet given its subject matter, and the times we live in, one expects to leave the cinema angry and indignant, rather than just pleasantly entertained. And in that sense, The Front Runner is something of a missed opportunity.

3 of 5 stars

[jo]

A review from the UK media, which seems to fully appreciate the directorial perspective and how the movie provides thought-provoking conversations. Another pat on the back for Hugh Jackman!


www.mirror.co.uk/film/front-runner-review-hugh-jackman-13415808

The Front Runner review: Hugh Jackman stars in "thought-provoking political drama"

Hugh Jackman stars as Democratic presidential nominee Gary Hart in political drama
The Front Runner

4 of 5 stars

ByLewis KnightAssistant Community Manager
16:39, 14 OCT 2018
Film

Sometimes the most fascinating figures from history are the ones who seemed destined for greatness but for other reasons never make it to their chosen calling.

Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Young Adult, Labour Day) tackles such a figure in the true story of US Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) who was the titular front runner to become the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988 and eventually the President of the United States of America. Hart is charming, handsome, principled, and compassionate and seems like a shoe-in for success - until a major scandal erupts from his personal life that sees the country question the politician they have already gotten to know.

Often focused on small character dramas as his typical style and best known for his work with screenwriter Diablo Cody, Reitman made the interesting choice to tackle a notorious moment from US political history and opens up a discussion on huge issues such as US politics, men abusing their power, journalistic integrity, and the need for truth in politics. The most interesting aspect about his execution of this is how it avoids coming firmly down on its sides of an argument and presents a kaleidoscope of opinions from politicians, but more than anything else - journalists.


The director still also excels at the smaller moments between people and understanding what makes them tick, and made the right choice to not chase an Aaron Sorkin-style snappy scripts but instead matching the messy ways in which groups of people interact, before having startlingly simple conversations between a duo of characters who represent different values, emotions, or behaviours.


Hugh Jackman is perfectly cast as the instantly likeable Hart, but also nails the scenes where he displays a stubbornness, clumsiness, and selfishness that makes Hart such an intriguing figure. Jackman is supported by an excellent ensemble of actors, but most are sadly underused - especially the brilliant Alfred Molina as a newspaper editor. Vera Farmiga impresses as Hart's supportive wife Lee who comes under the most strain from the scandals, while J.K. Simmons is his typically snarky self as a campaign manager. We do get enough moments with smaller players that are used to add texture to different arguments, and it allows us to feel empathy for all sides of the debates.


Despite tackling the topical issues of the politician's private life coming into politics, the rather grey relationship between the press and public affairs officials, and also the relationships between men in power and the women in their lives, The Front Runner never feels too on-the-nose and has you still considering the questions it poses long after viewing. It is a film with no easy answers, but that's precisely why it makes the story of Gary Hart so fascinating.


Verdict

The Front Runner is a topical but mostly unbiased biopic that offers a great turn from Hugh Jackman to create a thought-provoking political drama that proves that Jason Reitman can also go big.


Title
The Front Runner
Rating
15
Release date
January 25, 2019
Director
Jason Reitman
Starring
Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga


The Front Runner is being shown as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2018, but is released in UK Cinemas on January 25, 2019.

[jo]

iheartthetalkies.com/film-review-the-front-runner/

Film Review: The Front Runner
14/10/2018

Jason Reitman’s political drama The Front Runner is an engrossing watch. The film is superbly scripted, and boasts solid performances from its cast.

In 1986, Gary Hart is the front runner to be the presidential candidate for the Democratic party in the 1988 election. A lot can change in three weeks…

Set over a three week period in 1986, The Front Runner tells the story of democratic candidate Gary Hart’s campaign demise. The film conveys how quickly the front runner’s campaign fell apart after a scandal. Reitman’s film focuses on different sets of characters – the candidate’s team, the set of reporters who break the scandal, other reporters in the pool, and Hart’s family. The action jumps between various locations on the campaign trail, and from campaign to newspaper office.

The story is told in a compelling way, with markers showing each of the three weeks. Pacing is good; the freneticism of the campaign is mirrored by the jumping from location to location, from conversation to conversation. Reitman harks back to the period with his shooting style and the titles. It can be a little hokey, but draws viewers into this world.
The script, written by Reitman, Matt Bai, and Jay Carson, is fantastic. The dialogue gives an easy feel for the large cast of characters, conveying the personalities adroitly. The dialogue is often quick-fire, and there is plenty of humour to be found, amongst the more serious proceedings. The Front Runner has an enviable cast. Hugh Jackman gives a strong performance as Hart. J.K. Simmons, Mamoudou Athie, Jenna Kanell all highlights among a great cast. Music is used well throughout.


What does The Front Runner say in this political age? The scandal which sunk Hart is far, far more tame than the numerous scandals that did not even dent the current US president. A couple of themes become clear. Reitman returns to the idea of the role of the press, questioning the shift from serious reporting to tabloid splashes. Yet this seems redundant in this new political age, when neither appears to make as much of an impact.

Furthermore, Reitman underlines Hart’s disparaging of the personal line of questioning he receives from the press. At the same time, the film makes it clear that this obtuseness is a hinderance to Hart’s own team, much to their frustration. Reitman sets up the paradox of a man who demands integrity from others, but lacks the very same himself. The Front Runner plays with these ideas – the role of the press, the public versus private persona of politicians, whether a scandal should deter an otherwise meritorious politician – without positing a firm opinion. The film works better for leaving these ideas for viewers to mull over themselves.

The Front Runner is a diverting watch, and one of Reitman’s more accomplished films.


The Front Runner is being screened at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2018.

[jo]

culturedvultures.com/the-front-runner-2018-review/

The Front Runner (2018) REVIEW – Reitman’s Finest Hour

The Front Runner feels like an event movie that is bolstered by superb performances from everyone involved.
By Redmond Bacon On Oct 15, 2018


The relationship between politics and the media is dissected in The Front Runner, a winning ensemble political drama with shades of Robert Altman. Telling the prescient true story of a politician whose campaign is derailed by an extramarital affair, it boasts on-point late 80s period design (Big Phones! Telegrams! Big Bulky Computers! Smoking Everywhere!), convincing ensemble performances and a fresh approach to the political drama.

The political campaign genre, full of fast-food-eating-interns in shabby offices, journalists shit-talking each other, and earnest questions about the future of the country, is based in idealism, mainly the idea that something like sexual foul-play would derail a political campaign. Its always democrats in these movies. It simply wouldn’t work with Republicans because the moral vacuum at the heart of the party means that the capability for self-reflection really isn’t there. This isn’t to say that Democrats are bad, but when they’re exposed, it’s game over. Republicans, on the other hand – well, just look who is President.

Back in the day, these kind of things completely brushed off people like Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman). Journalists and politicians had rules. Policy is what mattered: only real political scandals like Watergate should be investigated. But now things have changed, and the rise of 24/7 media means that people are deeply interested in the private lives of politicians. As the title suggests, Hart is the Front Runner to become the 1988 democratic nominee for President, surrounded by a phalanx of crisis managers, eager volunteers, press agents and spin doctors. Also joining him on his journey are a whole team of journalists, who quickly notice how much time he spends away from his wife with mysterious blondes.


Hugh Jackman excels as Gary Hart, being able to convey every side of his complicated personality: a coward in front of his wife (Vera Farmiga), a good dad to his daughter (Kaitlyn Dever), a witty politician on TV, and intensely short-tempered when the press get on his wrong side. The only thing we don’t really see much of is his womanising – a crucial seduction scene almost inaudible due to the loud music on the soundtrack. Not only does this ape the perspective of the press, but it means we are not seduced by his behaviour.

At a time when the sexual impropriety (and outright criminal behaviour) of politicians has reached a fever-pitch, the questions the The Front Runner asks seem as relevant as ever. How private should politicians’ lives be? What is the power dynamic in these situations, even when they’re consensual? At what point do journalists cross the line? Who should we be protecting and why? With the presidencies of alleged sexual perverts Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, and the very recent appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, these questions still haven’t been solved. But just notice the difference between what the men and the women in this movie say. It speaks volumes.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about the movie is the overlapping dialogue, which is Altmanesque in the way one can hear multiple conversations going on at once. This Altman inspiration is especially apparent in the long tracking shot that opens the movie, which is reminiscent of The Player in the way the camera moves and we are prone to multiple perspectives to the same events. This approach to dialogue and sound mixing is appropriate to the themes of the movie, which is all about how different perspectives jostle against one another. Then, as if to signal this is an important Oscar-play ensemble drama, the soundtrack, opening with Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance”, is replete with jazzy handclaps and bass riffs.

As a result of this technique, it feels like an event movie. Jackman is supported by a wealth of great actors, including JK Simmons, Molly Ephraim, Alfred Molina, Bill Burr and Alex Karpovsky, who fall easily into their roles and give the movie an unforced naturalism. The editing is really fantastic, prioritising no single character, not even Hart, over another. Instead it’s all about “the campaign” – sweeping us up into the allure of running for office and the intense strain everyone goes through maintaining their vision of what they consider to be “good standards” in America. Easily Jason Reitman’s best film.

[jo]

oneroomwithaview.com/2018/10/15/the-front-runner-lff-2018-review/

It’s a tough time to talk about America. Any film covering politics is drawn into the vortex of the current climate. The Front Runner is no exception; in positioning itself as something of a quasi-origin story, it dooms itself to living in the shadow of our reality. Not that it matters – The Front Runner is a mixed bag even without the unfortunate context.

Hugh Jackman does give an excellent performance as idealistic presidential hopeful Gary Hart – a man cursed with political foresight but blind to the changing cultural tides. As Hart, Jackman is largely trapped as the man with his head in the sand, but he seizes every opportunity he can to hint at the murky depths beneath the still water.

Ultimately, The Front Runner in offering a zippy Sorkinesque take on the political churn than looking behind the curtain in any detail. This approach is undeniably well-implemented; Reitman and co’s screenplay is whip-smart, and helped along by a fantastic ensemble. J.K. Simmons leads the pack in a typically gruff and shouty role, while Alfred Molina is tragically left on the bench as the latest incarnation of Ben Bradlee.

Unfortunately, it takes only a cursory glance at Wikipedia to realise the film is oversimplifying – and not necessarily for the film’s benefit. Focusing on three weeks adds pace and humour, but a quick coda covering future events of Gary Hart’s political ambition would have better embedded Jackman’s choices in the role.

The Front Runner claims to give us the origins of the now long-standing antagonism between press and politics, but like Gary Hart, the film just feels behind the times. A product of a different era, this boilerplate political thriller will be as long-remembered as its protagonist.

RATING: 3/5

[jo]

Another (very) positive review from the London Film Festival, going through the moral and political issues that the movie lays bare --

www.thereviewshub.com/london-film-festival-the-front-runner/

London Film Festival: The Front Runner

Posted by: The Reviews Hub in Featured, Film, Review 10 mins ago 0

Writers: Matt Bai, Jason Carson and Jason Reitman

Director: Jason Reitman
Reviewer: Maryam Philpott

Personal indiscretions have the power to end political careers but that hasn’t always been the case. In the UK it was the Profumo affair of 1961 that permanently altered the relationship between the press and Parliament, while in America after Watergate in the 1970s corruption and deceit could hound a President out of office but it wasn’t really until 1987 that personal revelations of adultery become front page news, devastating the campaign of Senator Gary Hart in under three weeks.

Widely assumed to be the natural successor to Ronald Regan, Gary Hart is the front-runner in the 1987-88 Presidential race. Having narrowly lost out in 1984, it was widely assumed the Democratic nomination was his for the taking. But an indiscrete phone call to an alleged mistress is overhead by a journalist and soon Hart’s private life is in the spotlight. Determined that his personal affairs have no bearing on the campaign he vows to continue, but the Miami Herald has other ideas.


Jason Reitman’s new film The Front Runner has a huge moral complexity at its heart, asking questions about the right to privacy for public officials and the role of the media in determining whether a candidate is suitable for office. The debate rages through this time-limited film, taking place across just three weeks in 1987 which creates an engaging tension and focus to examine the issue from a variety of angles.

The audience initially sees Hart from the outside, a charming and attractive politician, clean-cut and Kennedy-eqsue, promising a bright new future for America while displaying his everyman credentials in a series of promo meetings in the Colorado mountains. He mixes easily and openly with journalists but fiercely bats away rumours about his marriage. In the second half of the film, Reitman shows us another side entirely, and as the story explodes, Hart becomes arrogant, and his judgement fails time and time again.

In a similar trajectory, the press pack appear to be doing their jobs, pursing a juicy lead that questions the behaviour of a leader preaching morality while using his position of power to lure young women. Often in such films, the worthy journalist gets their man, but showing the feeding frenzy that suddenly erupts as Hart’s wife and daughter are hounded, Reitman also asks important questions about the untempered and unelected freedom of the press to decide who should have power in society.


Hugh Jackman is fascinating as Hart, oozing good-guy charm in the early scenes and enjoying his easy ride. But suddenly he snaps when asked about his marriage and Jackman shows the coldness beneath the surface, a momentary flicker of the ruthlessness that every politician must have to become a party leader. From this point the audience sees his flaws, and while he may have a point about privacy his decision to embark on an affair mid-campaign and determination to conceal it mark out his essential dubiety.

The Front Runner also hints at the consequences for the vast campaign staff who fell with Hart including J.K. Simmons as the acerbic Bill Dixon, losing not just years of work but also their jobs. Vera Farmiga as Hart’s wife Andrea becomes a precursor to Hillary Clinton, the spouse who frequently looks the other way asking only to avoid public humiliation. As supposed mistress Donna Rice, Sara Paxton is suitably poleaxed by the entire affair, frustrated that her intelligence will be side-lined, portrayed as another “dumb blonde.”

Events do move quickly and as with the nature of the modern biopic, the audience is given only a snapshot of a life in a contained period from which we must draw conclusions about personality and approach.

There is little explanation of Hart’s history but The Front Runner gives a very interesting feel for the man Gary Hart was at a watershed moment in American political history. It all began with this, and Reitman’s movie has much to say about the here and now – a press corps that will stop at nothing to get the story and a President whose personal indiscretions couldn’t derail his campaign. Gary Hart might be right, maybe the voters really don’t care after all, but perhaps they should?

Release Date 14 October 2018 | Image: Sony Pictures

Review Overview


The Reviews Hub Score

Morally complex

4 of 5 stars

[jo]

And yet another positive review from the London Film Festival --

culturefly.co.uk/the-front-runner-bfi-london-film-festival-review/

The Front Runner – BFI London Film Festival Review

Simon ColumbOctober 15, 2018BFI London Film FestivalFeaturedFilm Reviews


In 1988, Gary Hart was the front runner for the presidency in America. Directed by Jason Reitman and starring Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga and JK Simmons, The Front Runner homes in on the final three weeks of his campaign. The film is based upon Matt Bai’s All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, recounting the shift in politics that has changed elections ever since. Hart was young at 46 years old with great hair and attractive enough that he could be played by Hugh Jackman. Reitman builds the intensity, busyness and chaos that surrounds the US election process until the wheels come off and Gary Hart’s presidential campaign is forced to come to a close due to his extramarital affair.

Beginning with an impressive one-shot at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Hart concedes defeat. He is high above the circus below as staffers mingle between each other and step on each other’s feet. His success, he believes, is secured as they are now known: “the world changes when young people give a damn” he says. He knows he’ll be back and flashing-forward, it is 1988 and he is “the front runner” and we’re reminded that “a lot can happen in three weeks”. Bill (JK Simmons) is reminding his volunteers that they are part of something big and their families may miss them, but it will be worth it. His campaigners are amazed at how Gary manages to succinctly and efficiently answer questions with such confidence and swagger. The Washington Post, with Ben Bradlee (Alfred Molina) in charge and AJ Parker (Mamoudou Athie) running alongside Hart’s campaign, are aware of the infidelities of politicians but as their wives look the other way, however uncomfortable, they have little reason to pursue these stories. When a phone call to the Miami Herald draws the attention of the press to a blond young woman who spent a boat trip intimately close with Hart, the coverage begins to change. While Hart is convinced his private life is of no concern to the voting public, the press begin to feel differently.


In the era of Trump, and his multiple affairs, marriages and the locker room talk he happily partakes in, Gary Hart is hardly an example of the worst man in politics – but he is flawed. The affair at the centre is a catalyst for our access to understand and consider the rights of the media and what is, and should be, in the public interest. Donna (Sara Paxton), the woman in the middle of the scandal, is rightfully acknowledged as Hart also has a responsibility to her that he clearly takes too lightly. If he is the President and can’t treat a woman with respect, should he be president at all? There’s a generational difference too, where journalists used to be asked by Presidents for the “courtesy” of turning a blind eye to the women who wander into their hotel room, we’re told. In 1988, such courtesy has been lost and a more-than-perfect figure has to emerge to even make it to the primaries. Then we reach 2018 and all the integrity has vanished and merely the balls, and bullying tactics of Trump are what propels politicians forward.

Reitman refuses to ignore the hypocrisies Hart has committed, despite the desire so many had for him to win. While spouting about integrity and transparency (telling a humble journalist to “follow” him when asked about his marriage), Hart is also keen for his privacy to remain intact. Reitman has a tough job of making this story exciting and engaging but he more than manages it. The Front Runner harks back to a simpler time when a political scandal, such as this, would bring a candidate down (if only it was possible in 2016) but it also reminds us that there are concerns in the behaviour Hart exhibited. The Weiner documentary from 2016 tackled a very similar conflict and the private behaviour of Anthony Weiner clearly impacted on his judgment and character (something that continued after the documentary was released).
Crucially, it’s fun and accessible with Hugh Jackman and the main players on top form while the supporting actors, such as Bill Burr, Ari Graynor and Molly Ephraim, ensure that even minor roles are meaty and memorable. Thought-provoking, intelligent and a thrilling political drama, The Front Runner is one worth watching this awards season.

★★★★
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Given the number of positive reviews from the London Film Festival, will the movie draw the attention of BAFTA voters ?


Jo

[jo]

Mixed review, with some reservations on the women perspective --


www.4ye.co.uk/2018/10/lff-2018-hugh-jackmans-front-runner-doesnt-quite-make-it-to-the-finish-line/

[jo]

Also a mixed review, but again a recognition of Hugh Jackman's excellent performance.

www.spoilertv.com/2018/10/movies-lff-2018-front-runner-review.html

Excerpts --

Whilst the film may play it a bit too safe in its approach and rarely takes risks, it juggles an ensemble cast well benefiting from the incredibly charismatic Hugh Jackman in the lead role. It's hard not to fault the energy that he brings to the table in this film, commanding every scene that he's in. It's someone who makes perfect sense to play a figure like Gary Hart, and Juno director Jason Reitman relishes in never taking the spotlight away from him.

[jo]

Mixed but more positive review - thinks Reitman was too soft on Gary Hart.

www.thepopcornmuncher.com/2018/10/15/lff-2018-the-front-runner-maya/

[jo]

www.thedartmouth.com/article/2018/10/review-the-front-runner-asks-about-the-cost-of-accountability

In a movie review, should real-life issues and events/their repercussions ( political and moral) be important arbiters of whether a movie is good or not?


Judging a movie because it is held against the mirror of history is a delicate task...and one needs to be careful in weighing in what matters in a cinematic/filmmaking effort.


Lol -- without my looking at the name of the author, how did I guess correctly that this review was written by a woman



Jo

[jo]

A 4 of 5 stars review from UK-based HEYUGUYS.com --

www.heyuguys.com/the-front-runner-review/

In the current political climate, where nobody in any position of power seems to ever be held accountable for their actions, it’s hard to believe that not even three decades ago a political candidate could have their hopes dashed overnight over idle gossip. In The Front Runner, director Jason Reitman (Juno, Labor Day, Tully) takes us back to the 1988 US presidency primaries which saw one of the first scandals of its type put an end to a political career without any substantial evidence.

On paper, presidential candidate Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) is exactly the kind of man the Democrats have been waiting for since JFK. He is smart, good-looking, and more importantly, genuinely motivated by wanting to help people. Considered by most observers to be the candidate most likely to beat his Republican counterpart, Hart soon finds himself in the middle of a scandal which was to mark a turning point in the relationship between media outlets and politicians.

After decades of sticking to the unofficial code of turning the blind-eye on extramarital affairs, even outlets such as the Washing Post soon find themselves in a competitive market in which a good headline could make or break a newspaper. When a local reporter from the Miami Herald receives an anonymous tip-off informing him that Hart may be conducting an affair behind his wife’s back, the paper sends in a small team of reporters to stake-out Hart’s DC home in he hope of catching him in the act. This soon results in a very public confrontation between the politician and the reporters in a dark alleyway behind his home. The next day, Hart finds himself having to fend off questions about his own integrity and on whether he can be trusted by the voters to deliver on his promise to always be honest and open.

Capitalising on the current trends for films that deliberately want to achieve the look of the period they were set in, Reitman does a fantastic job in replicating the era almost exactly how it’s remembered but those who lived it. With its low resolution and hand-held grainy quality, The Front Runner not only pays homage to the great political dramas of the 70s, but it also manages to go the extra mile by offering an aesthetic which is as close to those films as one can expect.


Jackman gives a measured and wonderfully subtle turn as Gary Hart, he offers the former presidential hopeful as a man of integrity and poise without ever resorting to imitation. Elsewhere Vera Farmiga gives yet another brilliant performance as Hart’s long suffering wife Lee, while Oscar winner J.K. Simmons does a fantastic job as Hart’s campaign boss Bill Dixon. Other noteworthy performances come courtesy of the brilliant Mamoudou Athie, whose scene-stealing turn as wide-eye young reporter A.J. Parker is as pivotal to the narrative as that of Oliver Cooper’s turn as campaign aid Joe Trippi.

Overall, The Front Runner presents a brilliantly well-devised and fantastically executed screenplay courtesy of Matt Bai and Jay Carson who stop at nothing in their quest for authenticity. And while Reitman’s deliberate nod to the past might seem a little gimmicky to some, in reality the film does a fantastic job in bringing an important subject to the forefront especially in these uncertain political times.


REVIEW OVERVIEW
The Front Runner

SUMMARY
Jackman and Reitman shine in a top quality political thriller, with a finely-tuned exploration of integrity in changing times.

OVERALL SCORE

4 of 5 stars

I have always had a healthy respect for this site, based on previous reviews and feature articles.


Jo

[jo]

It seems ironic that it is the British critic community that has viewed the movie with more incisive appreciation of the cinematic intent of this movie dealing with American political drama ! Another major acknowledgment of Hugh Jackman's deliberately restrained but impressive portrayal!

www.themoviewaffler.com/2018/10/the-front-runner-review.html?fbclid=IwAR1g91V2zejYPmlLIcjHgGS2dYNFiKSfKL51HcTQqXJH-2kGCDKwvIQorqY?r1=http://www.wikplayer.com/wik.html?16102012?r1=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wikplayer.com%2Fwik.html%3F16102012

Review by Musanna Ahmed

Directed by: Jason Reitman

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga, JK Simmons, Molly Ephraim, Mamoudou Athie, Alfred Molina, Kaitlyn Dever

Movies about American politicians embroiled in controversy have sort of lost their power in the last couple of years, knowing that, these days, in reality, the chances of a controversial candidate attaining victory is absurdly high. We can make our mind up about a Gary Hart biopic before we've even seen it, chastising the man and any attempt to humanise him. Or we can watch The Front Runner for Jason Reitman's very nuanced portrait of the disgraced politician, which doesn't let him off the hook but doesn't refuse to criticise the media circus around him either.

Based on the book 'All the Truth is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid' by Matt Bai (who also co-wrote the screenplay with the director and Jay Carson), this film follows Democratic candidate Hart’s presidential campaign over three weeks in 1988, which was disturbed by allegations of adultery. How ill-considered actions and dishonest reactions can cost you the position of a lifetime. The tagline sells his story as an event that changed American politics forever. Sure, one major decision will indeed change something forever, but isn’t that tagline relevant for most films based on American politics?


It’s not the ideal selling point for the film, which is rather fascinating in its presentation of the battle between ethics in politics vs ethics in news reporting. Affairs and media lies are eerily appropriate topics to touch on today. Like watching the general elections, the race to the truth at the centre of The Front Runner compellingly plays out like a thriller. The "act" is never depicted - what’s more important is how Hart responds when the rumour mill gets going.

Repeatedly brushing off the hearsay to his campaign team by stating that "the public doesn’t care" about these details of his personal life, Hart speaks from the experience of a man who has come so far in his career without engaging with the hearsay. Now, at the peak of his mountainous climb to the top - which the Coloradoan politician symbolises by shooting his announcement video in the Rocky Mountains - he’s severely underestimating the impact of tabloid journalism. In that regard, it’s fair to say that the week politics went tabloid did indeed shift American politics to never be the same again, justifying why The Front Runner would sell itself in this particular way despite my previous point about
unoriginality.




Elaborating on this point about tabloid journalism interference in politics through the focus on personal lives, The Front Runner paints the Miami Herald’s reporters in a bad light by highlighting their invasion of privacy tactics and their conclusion-hopping prior to getting all the facts. Having the newspaper’s team played by comedians (Mike Judge, Bill Burr, Kevin Pollak) implies that they’re kind of a joke. Their portrayal comes at the risk of leaning too much in favour of the politician, but bridging the gap between fake news and suspicious politicians is a Washington Post reporter with direct access to Hart, A.J. Parker (Mamoudou Athie).


He’s the only press person gifted with the trust of Hart, so if the potential president can’t give him straight answers, there’s no hope for anybody else. Their relationship is one of the key components of the film, emphasising Reitman’s only agenda, which is to learn more about Hart, but only through the verifiable lens of a good journalist. So, understanding that this is a legitimate profile of Hart, there’s the need for a fine actor to take on such a meaty role. Hugh Jackman knocks it out of the park.

The actor enters new territory with this political drama and navigates it with finesse. Firing off politic-speak with a sharp tongue, it feels like the Oscar nominee - who may be rewarded a second nomination for his efforts here - has unearthed abilities within him that audiences have never seen before. Typically sticking to heavily physical (and often angry) roles, we're used to his characters reacting with either physical or verbal violence, so his generally calmer demeanor during tense moments (of which there are plenty) constantly upends our expectations. What will Hart have to say about this? Jackman ensures the answer to that is captivating to watch. His campaign staff - made up of a cohort of very good actors including JK Simmons, Chris Coy and Alex Karpovsky - are fully attuned to the Sorkin-esque script, having fun with the wit and quips.



I have to describe the film with trite, obvious descriptors such as "timely" and "relevant," but the strong parallels to present-day political scandals are undeniable. The Front Runner may not be the most incisive political drama but its foreshadowing of the contemporary political landscape is valuable. At the very least, what it has to offer is a terrific Jackman performance and a confirmation that Reitman has returned to form this year.

[jo]

Review from Flickering Myth --

www.flickeringmyth.com/2018/10/2018-bfi-london-film-festival-review-the-front-runner/

[jo]

A young film critic with a journalism degree writes thoughtfully about THE FRONT RUNNER --

www.filminquiry.com/front-runner-2018-review/

[jo]

film-book.com/film-review-front-runner-thrilling-ride-doesnt-dig-deep-lff-2018/

Hugh Jackman’s natural charisma and his confident performance make him an ideal casting choice for the protagonist. He is extremely convincing as the strong-willed, intelligent, assuring leader but is equally capable of displaying his vulnerability when the axe comes through the door and his world starts crumbling down around him.

Rating : 7/10

[jo]

Also from the London Film Festival, a positive review of THE FRONT RUNNER --

www.cautionspoilers.com/film-reviews/the-front-runner/?fbclid=IwAR2JA8acyV8Cf-pFDiLusNHsP90gEc3KPCJdv7QOuVBCpHsOUXxYyrg1lkg