'There are traitors among us. I'm not talking about those of you who have spoken out against the leaders of your parties. I'm talking about those of you who supported your party. But he betrayed the end result – the rightness, the truth, the concept of ma In our current state of total political correctness, struggle for equality and against sexism, a film like 'The Claimant' would be a candidate for all kinds of awards. After all, in the center of the plot is a political confrontation at the highest levels, where a male candidate who received very high ratings and support in all strata after one event is opposed by a female candidate who unexpectedly received support from the President.
This situation is shown to us as something beyond the accepted rules, which, however, are not introduced into any corpus, but this trend has been maintained since the birth of the political system in the United States. And so, as Victor Tsoi sang in the famous song, ' we want change!'. It is clear that now would be such a film as 'The Respondent' literally tore the ovation from the society, zealously supporting social reforms. But in 2000, such a film was a little out of the box. True, the director and screenwriter 'Pretendent' Rhoda Lurie can now be called ' Jules Verne' from the genre of political drama, because he first felt the wind soon beginning changes in social structure and views on life.
In general, Rod Lurie is from the category of directors and screenwriters who get involved in one narrowly specialized direction. Lurie clearly cares about political insinuations, so he diligently bypasses the mainstream, trying to shoot his film on burning topics. In fact, Rod Lurie can become an example of how people, even before the global changes in social attitudes, already fought for the purity of morals and the fight against male superiority in all spheres, and the fact that he also took the field of politics makes him almost a visionary and a sworn fighter against an outdated system.
But let’s move away from the indirect influences coming from 'The Apprentice' and go directly to the emotional background that he actually creates when viewing. Lurie and tape operator Denis Maloney chose the approach of shooting 'shaking' camera to add realism to the production. Although they failed to complete the idea, but I think that they did not particularly try, because this is not a biographical picture, but a tape with a serious plot, designed for what the viewer will perceive ' The Challenger' as an impulse for a new and correct life position. In addition, the excellent acting ensemble (Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Gary Oldman, Christian Slater, Sam Elliott and a number of other less famous, but no less recognizable actors) does not allow us to believe that this film is something similar to pseudo-documentary.
Jeff Bridges, as always, is remarkably good and thoroughly convincing in his role as US President Jackson Evans. To be honest, when you look at Bridges’ hero, you realize that only such a person can be worthy of the number one position in the state and the happiness of the state that has such a politician at the helm. Nominations for 'Oscar', 'Golden Globe' and 'Actor Guild Award' absolutely deserved and justified. As well as nominations at the same awards for Joan Allen, who played a female candidate for the high post of vice president, who is diligently trying to smear, accusing almost of prostitution. It resists attacks, but it does so with grace, courage, and composure, using its principles of life. Her performance before the meeting is a beautiful reflection of the epistolary genre of the writer, and such an inspiring and sincere expression of the writer’s thought is a real and pure confirmation of the professionalism of Joan Allen.
Gary Oldman feels that even in a dream he can play not the most pleasant characters. In 'Pretendent' he literally made hate his hero Sheldon Ragnon, who came out with outright aggression towards the candidacy of Lane Hanson, played by Allen. He dug through dirty laundry, brought it all to public discussion, trampled and mocked a practically defenseless woman, but in the end, evil must be punished. On the other hand, it is clear that Sheldon Ragnon was guided by his principles and views, should he be blamed for such unsightly actions? What if he was right in his disbelief? In general, everyone can judge for themselves about Ranyon. Christian Slater is also good and plays well, because it was before his sharp fall from the acting Olympus.
Leave a pleasant impression with their play supporting actors, including Sam Elliott, William Petersen, Saul Rubinek, Philip Baker Hall, Mike Binder, Mariel Hemingway. And all of them do not shy away from the fact that they are, as it were, on a play-off, they perfectly cope with the tasks set. Thus, they show that the actors of the support plan are extremely necessary, and if you consider yourself a professional, then this work should be done with all your might, and not think that this is an unworthy offer that can be neglected, as well as your performance on the set. So in addition to the political and social context of the film, it is worth noting the excellent acting work, and all the actors involved without exception. To watch such an ensemble is a complete joy. And for them, without a shadow of a doubt, I increase the average subjective score by one point and come out:
8 out of 10