The Conspirator - Abraham Lincoln Would Appreciate It!

(Robin Wright & James McAvoy in The Conspirator)
(2011) ★★★★☆

Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) is a soldier-turned-lawyer asked to defend a woman charged with conspiring to kill probably the most respected President in American history, Abraham Lincoln. Imagine you were Frederick himself, you once risked your life for your belief, your people and your beloved President in the battlefield. Now the President you adore has been shot dead, would you stand to defend someone that you believe is part of the assassination? Or would you choose to go against the spirit of the Constitution that all the Presidents of the States must swear to defend, quit your day job, and let the innocent be hanged without even a proper trial?

I guess there’re two different kinds of legal dramas out there. One is filled with twists and turns, suspenseful and mind-blowing if you like, and the other with lots of emotional struggles. ‘The Conspirator’ is definitely the latter. It strikes you not by showing you who’s innocent and not in the end, but by telling you how hard it is to prove someone’s innocence when the whole country of people think he/she is unquestionably responsible and guilty. The struggle between defending justice and seeking revenge is always there. No matter. Someone has to stay clear-minded throughout some particular times of craziness. If people all go hysterical and irrational, and the law is ignored, then all we can do is wish us good luck!

Robert Redford’s ‘The Conspirator’ is a superb legal drama with exciting courtroom fights and heart-wrenching scenes. If you look for suspense or romance in it, you’ll be disappointed. There was a pretty simple truth but the way to make people believe it was rather hard at the time. Mr Aiken is told that in times of war, the law falls silent. He however, insists that it shouldn’t. Sure Mr President Lincoln would appreciate someone like that.