The trial of Mary Surratt was not the first or last example of that quote in use, but it is the one on display in The Conspirator. We do not know if Surratt was indeed involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Whether she conspired in the murder is not the point of the film, but rather the purpose is to show the many injustices of her trial.
James McAvoy plays Frederick Aiken, a young attorney returning from the Civil War who is asked to defend Surratt in a seemingly impossible case. She is portrayed by Robin Wright. Surratt’s son was a man who had involvement in the assassination plot, however small his role may have been. He was apparently in cahoots with John Wilkes Booth and company. The question is whether Surratt, who ran a boarding house where these men planned and plotted, had any knowledge or assisted the group in killing the president.
Even though the Civil War is concluding and the North is emerging as the victor, this case pits the North and South against one another yet again. A southerner, Surratt, is on trial being represented by a former northern soldier before a northern military tribunal. To say that the tribunal was biased during the trial would be putting it lightly. The military tribunal of Union members was out for justice, or vengeance– whichever way you choose to see it.
McAvoy is brilliant as Aiken, displaying all the emotions and conflictions needed to pull off the part. He struggles both externally with Surratt and internally with himself, a defender of the north on the battlefield but the defense attorney of a southerner in court.
Wright is also very convincing as Surratt, which is not surprising in the least. Evan Rachel Wood, who plays Surratt’s daughter, deserves credit as well.
Justin Long is in this movie playing McAvoy’s good friend and comic relief, Nicolas Baker.
Director Robert Redford said in a press conference that he had to remind Long he was acting in a movie which is set in 1865. I would have liked to remind Redford that he had cast one of this generation’s most well-known comedic actors in a stirring and controversial film. I, like many others, am a big fan of Justin Long, but I cringed upon seeing him on screen in preparation for his comedic lines. The man he played was of course real, but having Long play the role made his part feel forced. The funny parts were funny because it was Long who was saying them, not because they were truly humorous. In a film like this, I would have even been content had any comedy been done away with. It felt as though the humor took away from the tone of the movie.
Aside from that, the casting was well done and Redford, as usual, does a fine job directing this challenging film. Redford could have easily chosen to go another direction by showing us what we already know from routine American history lessons. Instead, he chose a little known side story from a well-known part of American history, and made it come to life on the screen.
That being said, The Conspirator is not stunning nor does one particular aspect excel to a point beyond anything I’ve seen before. But it is a solid historical piece with a message as strong as its star-studded cast and director. Whatever your political affiliation is, this is a movie that will stay with you and quite possibly disturb you to some extent. And that’s the mission here; to open our eyes and make us that much more aware of the Mary Surratt trial.
The Conspirator opens in theatres everywhere on April 15.
Daniel Feingold can be reached at dfeingold@spartans.ut.edu.