Les pleins pouvoirs

Washington DC -1990s. Luther Whitney, reputed one the very best thieves of the country but supposedly retired, is in the process of executing his greatest robbery –the private vault of a powerful billionaire, Walter Sullivan. But he is disturbed by the billionaire's young wife. Christy takes advantage of her husband's absence to receive her lover –the US President himself. President Richmond is a sick pervert, and the love affair turns sour. In front of hidden Whitney, the lady is murdered. Before escaping, Whitney secures the murder weapon, but he will need all his experience and skills to manipulate the secret services and the very competent police investigator Seth Frank. Not only must he protect himself but also his estranged daughter Kate. Not to worry however –Luther Whitney is Clint Eastwood, after all! And since the suspense in this respect is minimal, we can just relax and enjoy watching one of our coolest supermen smoothly make his way through a nicely structured scenario. Although the action itself is ageless, one sign definitely links the movie to the 90s –the blatant lack of respect for the person of the US President and the undisguised criticism of political corruption. Maybe a way to exorcise the scandals that have been plaguing the White House over the last decades

I have to say, that, ok maybe some of the actions of this film are a little manifested, but nevertheless, it holds for some nice suspense when it is required, and it also has a lot of eclectic moments(i.e. moments when the feeling is far from previous, yet conveyed appropriately). Besides the plot, this film has a wonderful, albeit short, soundtrack(composed by Clint), and good settings. A nice little ending on it too. Oh, and I have to say that Ed Harris is a excellent at 'doing' the sarcastic cop. I love it!

HIGHS--

A very fun plot. Gene Hackman could vilify Ghandi given the right lines. Clint Eastwood as a high-stakes jewel thief?? I'm in heaven. Soft, subtle score; typical of modern Eastwood films. Intense finale that has you rooting for the bad guys, or is it the good guys?? You decide. E. G. Marshall's version of a scorned billionaire is a wonderful turn.

LOWS--

I have not read Baldacci's novel this is based upon. But I have to think, Clint Eastwood was not who he had in mind for the elusive cat burglar Luther Whitney. That casting was probably a little too self-serving. Also, I did enjoy the plot. But maybe a touch of more believability would have been nice. The murder scene at the beginning, while necessary for the remainder, may be a touch too implausible for my taste.

PARTING IMPRESSION--

Solid entertainment. This rating denotes that. Sure, won't win any Oscars, but that's not why you really want to see a film like this. We all root for these high stakes take-the-money-and-run type finales and here we are satiated in the chicanery, the likes of which could only emanate from D.C. Seven out of ten.

Absolute Power may not be an overly special film but it was the first movie I saw in the cinema after leaving high school. I was certainly not the target audience but it had my attention from the first scene and maintained the suspense for the during of the running time, even if it doesn't build to much.

Clint Eastwood plays Luther Whitney, an expert thief who targets billionaire industrialist Walter Sullivan (grouchy old EG Marshall, in his last theatrical movie) while he is off on vacation. While in the midst of cleaning out the vault the President of the United States (Gene Hackman) enters the room with Sullivan's wife. Whitney hides in the vault, which has a two-way mirror, and witnesses the President get a little too rough with the woman, which ends in her fighting him off and being murdered by the secret service. The Chief of Staff concocts a plan to cover up the murder not knowing that Whitney is watching the whole thing. As the group leave he escapes, taking a crucial piece of evidence with him.

Initially unsure what to do, Whitney decides to taunt the President, though it's not clear what his complete plan is or even if he's just free-forming. If one should fault Absolute Power for any reason it's that it establishes a lot of plot and potential but never really does anything with it and ends with an anti-climactic cop-out.

Where it succeeds is with the small cast of characters who really make the dialogue and relationships work. Ed Harris as the confused but dedicated cop investigating the case, Laura Linney as Whitney's resentful daughter, and the austere Scott Glenn as the self-doubting agent make every scene effortless even when there's not much happening.

Adapted from (and streamlined and improved in the process) the bloated novel by David Baldacci (I call them 'Airport novels' – those 600-page bricks with generic covers featuring nothing but the title and author in giant gold letters in a tacky font) the screenplay makes many changes but they are all for the better. Eastwood's direction is slow and steady – or 'mature'. The pace and framing is the antidote for anyone bored to tears with the nauseating aesthetic of today's comic-book movies and CGI nightmares.

A curious thing about the beginning of the movie is that Clint Eastwood only has 2 lines of dialogue for the entire 35 minutes. I don't understand why he didn't cut them out and remain silent, which would give the film a peculiar edge.

The Narrative.

A consistent plot involving many different types of characters in the form of organised professional robber Whitney (Marvellously portrayed by Eastwood) who is involved in a huge conspiracy involving the very uncomfortable president Hackman.

Perhaps the story gets too involved at points with a lack of realism. However the film is always tense and engaging, especially the beginning which was definitely one of my all time favourite openings to a crime film. Tense, exciting and with a few twists it presents a realistic view of a robber caught up in what will surely be a huge case.

The story justifies the genre by being focused upon murders and robberies and adds sentimental value in the form of family and friendship values. Laura Linney (The Truman Show) is terrific as Eastwood's daughter and adds a great sentimental value to a heavy crime film. She is involved in a great twists towards the end which is a must watch.

The ending surprised me. Although there were great twists, the final few scenes and the way the narrative came to never felt quite justified in my opinion but then again I may have been expecting too much from a film that was consistent and engaging from the beginning. The film is always kept exciting through the tense robbery scenes, character actions and a plot about a man and his power.

Direction.

Eastwood's direction is simply breathtaking. The opening sequence where he explores the neatly kept mansion for his robbery is the best moment in the entire film; I was literally on the edge of my seat. Dark, quiet and with a grace that any director would be proud of I held my breathe from start to finish. Heavy critics may argue it conforms too much to an action styled genre with many shots appearing focusing in or around the main priority but I appreciated it for what it was, which was sheer brilliance.

Eastwood is outstanding in the whole of this film. Not only his ability to pull off a stern ageing character but this direction is also worthy of huge praise.

watch it if...you enjoy the crime genre and appreciate tense dramatic sequences.

but its simply just worth watching for the beginning.