Recount Rave

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Last night I finally saw Recount (HBO, debuting 5.25), and I feel no hesitancy whatsoever in calling it totally crackerjack -- a throughly engaging, first-rate political drama that gets you off. It's also fair to use the word "brilliant," I think. It's no small feat to make a gripping film that's mostly about a bunch of middle-aged political operatives bickering and maneuvering over vote counts, media statements, lawsuits, court decisions, dimpled chads and all that jazz. But director Jay Roach and first-time screenwriter Danny Strong have done this.

This despite the fact that in a flash-forward sense it's telling an essentially grim tale about how the George Bush forces managed to finagle things in their favor at the end of the day. The result was that they took this country into economic ruin and international disrepute over the following eight years, a situation which ultimately led to my gassing up last night at the corner of Beverly and La Cienega and having to pay $53 dollars...good God!

You might presume that an HBO drama about the "street fight" (as it was apparently called by senior Bush operative James Baker) over the Florida returns in the wake of the 2000 presidential election might be a little too inside-baseball for most people. Well, maybe some will say that. But it struck me as brisk, engaging, dryly humorous and never less than gripping. It's very specific in a political-junkie sense, but it gets into this realm with such verve that it's impossible not to be affected in a contact-high sense.

That was my reaction, at least. It kept reminding me of Zodiac in its eagerness to burrow into detail and make that detail be the whole thing -- the spring from which all meaning flows.

If Recount was a theatrical film I would definitely have it down as one of the year's best so far. This kind of movie has been abandoned by producers of theatrical fare, of course. Moviegoing tastes have dumbed down to the point where putting a film of this type into the plexes would be seen as borderline suicidal.

It's one of those no-frills historical recreation pieces in the vein of '03's The Pentagon Papers or '79's Blind Ambition with a little Primary Colors attitude and some of the biting political satire that I remember from Michael Ritchie's The Candidate.

Recount seems to pass along a good portion of the truth -- it doesn't seem to pussyfoot around in dramatizing what really happened -- but it doesn't feel to me as if Roach and Strong are totally in the tank for the Democrats. The Republicans (except, to be fair, in the case of Laura Dern's hilarious portrayal of former Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris) are, it seems to me, honestly recreated and dramatized.

Recount is chock full of delicious performances. At the top of the list is Kevin Spacey's portrayal of Democratic operative and longtime Gore staffer Ron Klain (easily his most sympathetic role since American Beauty), Tom Wilkinson's superb performance as Baker, Dern's Harris, Denis Leary's smartly engaging turn as Democratic strategist Michael Whouley, Ed Begley, Jr.'s very stirring inhabiting of Democratic attorney David Boies (i.e., the guy who argued the Gore case in front of the Supreme Court), and Bob Balaban's completely solid rendering of Republican operative Ben Ginsberg.

Recount director Jay Roach, costar Tom Hillman, screenwriter Danny Strong

Not to put down the comedies, but for me this is the best thing Roach has ever directed. Some IMDB guy wrote that he "can't wait to see the first TV spot that says something along the lines of, 'A powerful political drama from the director of Meet the Parents and Austin Powers.'" But that's putting it corrrectly.

I can't see how this film won't be seen as having done serious damage to the reputation of former Secretary of State Warren Christopher -- and justifiably so if what it shows is accurate. After Recount gets seen and kicked around Christopher (portrayed by John Hurt) will be widely seen as the one of the great all-time wimps -- a seasoned diplomat who knew how to speak elegantly about the foundations of good government and high moral purpose, but who fundamentally and pathetically didn't get the fact that sometimes in life you need to fight and fight hard.

One of the small pleasures of watching Wilkinson's Baker is that at least he understands this. He's even given a little human dimension towards the end when he talks about how he became a Republican when Bush Sr. got him out of the dumps when his wife died by persuading him to work for him. It's a first-rate performance. Deserving of an Emmy nomination.

Katherine Harris will not be pleased by Dern's portrayal of her. Her life over the last eight years or so has been well reported and documented, and there's nothing in this film that hasn't been vetted. Nonetheless it's probably safe to say that her reputation has been sullied by this film for all time, and good riddance to that.

96% of the people who write in about this are going to say "who cares?," "get over it!," "Bush won...stop whining" and so on. So I may as well respond to this in advance. Recount is not simplistic and one-sided by my sights. It doesn't suggest that George Bush really did win the election in terms of the popular vote in Florida and across the nation because he didn't. Nor does it say that the Supreme Court decision in his favor was totally impartial and unmotivated by political considerations.

You can put on the tap shoes and shilly-shally all you want, but if the entire state of Florida had been recounted, and if those Broward County fogies hadn't voted for Pat Buchanan by mistake, and if all those African-American Floridians hadn't been unfairly disqualified from voting, Al Gore would have been sworn in as president in 2001.

comment #1

lazarus says ...

Before I even finished your review, Jeff, I was thinking about that Stevens quote and how the film had to end with that. It was chilling to read back in 2000, and it's even more chilling now.

comment #2

Mark G. says ...

Good to hear, now what about HAROLD & KUMAR and IRON MAN?

comment #3

David Ehrlich says ...

i don't understand why this can't be considered one of the best films of the year just because it won't receive a theatrical release. is your consideration only in regards to what is eligible for the oscars? that's silly, no? with all the means of distribution available to filmmakers these days, i think everything should be fair game for such a list.

comment #4

bb says ...

"You can put on the tap shoes and shilly-shally all you want, but if the entire state of Florida had been recounted, and if those old biddies hadn't voted for Pat Buchanan by mistake, and if all those African-American Floridians hadn't been unfairly disqualified from voting, Al Gore would have been sworn in as president in 2001."

And if pigs had wings...

I look forward to the movie and hope it is smart enough to grasp the full story. Hmmm, I wonder.

I can't wait for the movie that looks at the stolen Democratic nomination in 2008. I'm not sure if the angle will be disenfranchised voters of Florida, the corrupt Super Delegate cabal, systemic racism or patriarchal sexism. Maybe they'll use archival footage of the convention fireworks.

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

i just finished watching this and have to say that your review is spot on in every respect... this is, hands down, my favorite film so far this year.... although i have to admit a twinge of guilt for getting so much enjoyment out of watching the recreation of an event that caused so much displeasure....

i don't understand why hbo wouldn't give this a short theatrical run just for exposure and to qualify for a couple of awards (i think laura dern would be a supporting actress shoo-in).......

you really should consider rerunning this review the week of 5/25 just to remind folk that it's out there......

comment #6

actionman says ...

I wonder how different the film would have been had Sydney Pollack been healthy enough to direct it.

This is a big stretch for Jay Roach...

I love political thrillers/dramas so I'm definitely anxious to see this.

HBO did a fantastic job with John Adams, hope this continues their winning streak...

comment #7

Michael says ...

Does a fair portrayal...does that mean it has Bill Daley's terrifying Mugabe-like press conference ("we'll recount as many times as we have to until we've won")? Or David Boies lying about the interpretation of the Illinois decision before the Florida Supreme Court?

Not that it matters now...I wish Bush hadn't won, and I really wish voters in Florida had the nominal intelligence required to fill out a ballot correctly.

comment #8

Edward says ...

This and John Adams makes me wish I had HBO. Am I wrong, but wouldn't this have to have only a theatrical release to be eligible for the Academy Awards?

comment #9

berkguru says ...

very nice review Jeff, thanks

comment #10

Joe Leydon says ...

By sheer coincidence, I happened to be at Ground Zero in 2000. Really. I was covering the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, but took off on Election Day so I could do volunteer work at the local Florida Democratic Party headquarters. Mostly, I fielded phone calls from senior citizens who needed transportation to voting places. Later in the day, I also went door to door to pass out flyers. That night, back in my hotel room, I went absolutely nutzoid when the first reports came in that Gore had WON Florida, and therefore was projected as the next President. You think Tom Cruise did some couch jumping? Pshaw. A friend who was with me at the time actually tried to quiet me down, for fear people in other rooms would complain about the racket while I hopped up and down on the couch, the bed, the kitchen breakfast bar, etc.

And then, of course, the first reports were "corrected," and the Florida projection was withdrawn. And then... Well, that's when I put down my drink, and picked up the bottle. The next day, I awoke with a very bad hangover. My condition improved only slightly when I learned that, during the night, Gore had withdrawn his concession.

And yes, I am not ashamed to admit it: All I could think of for days and weeks and months afterward was: Dammit! If I had managed to get more vans out for voters! If I had placed flyers on more doors! If! If! If!

comment #11

D.Z. says ...

Michael: "does that mean it has Bill Daley's terrifying Mugabe-like press conference ("we'll recount as many times as we have to until we've won")?"

Mugabe is more like Jeb.

"and I really wish voters in Florida had the nominal intelligence required to fill out a ballot correctly."

It's kind of tough to fill out a ballot correctly, when it's prepared by someone with dyslexia.

comment #12

Josh Massey says ...

"It's kind of tough to fill out a ballot correctly, when it's prepared by someone with dyslexia."

Did said Democrat and all the Democrats who approved it also have dyslexia?

Joe: I also remember when the first "Gore wins Florida" votes started to come in - before the conservative panhandle had stopped voting. That alone makes any argument about a "popular vote" worthless. Who knows how many people stayed home or turned around once they heard their state had already been decided?

(Of course, another aspect that makes the "popular vote" argument meaningless is that thousands of voters in states leaning heavily one way likely didn't vote because they knew their state was wrapped up).

comment #13

D.Z. says ...

Josh: The Dems didn't approve it, since Jeb pulled a bait-and-switch on them.

comment #14

Stan Kjar says ...

The great irony is that if the Supreme Court had done what Gore asked, Bush would have still won the election. Gore didn't ask for a recount of the entire state, only the recount of certain counties. So you can put on your tap shoes and shilly-shally all you want, Bush would have still been elected president.

comment #15

lipranzer says ...

I may be the only person on this website to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway - holy shit, Jonathan from TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a screenwriter?

All kidding aside, I am curious to see this.

comment #16

thasos says ...

$53 for a tankful of gas? Holy hell, poor you

comment #17

Dave Polands Gut says ...

Too bad Al Gore was such a terrible candidate that he couldnt even beat George W Bush.

comment #18

Dave Polands Gut says ...

If you want someone to blame for high gas prices why not the liberals who dont want drilling in the Gulf or drilling in Alaska and the liberals who tax the holy hell out of it.

comment #19

Edward says ...

Yeah Dave, blame the liberals for not wanting to risk damaging our environment more than it is. Let's risk polluting the Gulf and then the fragile Alaska wilderness. I'd rather blame the liberals for not deealing with the obscene profits the oil companies have been making.

comment #20

Dave Polands Gut says ...

So you know who to blame for rising costs of oil. And drilling in Alaska and the Gulf wouldnt hurt the environment.

And how does collecting taxes on oil hurt the environment???

comment #21

adaml says ...

$53 a tank? I "gassed up" in London last week and it was $120. $10 a gallon here. You guys are lucky.

comment #22

Josh Massey says ...

Edward, do you know the different between "profit" and "profit margin?"

comment #23

SaveFarris says ...

Edward, I'm pretty sure the US Economy is, at the moment, more fragile than the Alaskan Wilderness. If we happen to lose a couple thousand acres of ugly barren tundra that noone either lives nor visits if it will get gas prices lower ... I'm okay with that.

Jeff, I'm sure a comprehensive, honest movie such as this touches on Gore's attempt to disqualify military ballots. Right? Right?!?

comment #24

D.Z. says ...

Stan: "The great irony is that if the Supreme Court had done what Gore asked, Bush would have still won the election. "

Not if those black people were allowed to vote...

Farris: "If we happen to lose a couple thousand acres of ugly barren tundra that noone either lives nor visits"

I'm sure that's what Exxon once though with the Valdez.

"if it will get gas prices lower ..."

It won't get gas prices lower, because we're running out of oil.

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