Absolute Power Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Corrupts Absolutely.
Luther Whitney is a professional thief, who only works occasionally. He is planning what is suppose to be his last job, and everything is going smoothly until some come in before he can leave. He hides in a secret room and from behind a one-way mirror sees that it's the wife of the owner of the house he is robbing and another man. They are fooling around when the guy decides to liven things up by striking her, she get away but he corners her, she then grabs a letter opener and is about to stab him when he cries out for help when two men come in and shoot her dead. It seems that the man is Alan Richmond, the President of the United States and the two men are the secret service agents assigned to him. Later, a woman, Gloria Russell, who is his Chief of Staff enters and upon learning of what has happened, decides to cover it up and make it appear that she was killed by a burglar. After sanitizing the room, they are about to leave but they forget the letter opener, Whitney comes out of the room and takes it and makes his getaway but when they returned for the letter opener they discover Whitney and chase him but he gets away. The police investigate the murder and there are so many inconsistencies, which makes the investigator, Seth Frank suspect that something is going on. Frank then discovers that Whitney is a possible suspect but the only thing is that he doesn't believe that Whitney is a killer. Whitney tries to leave town but when he learns just how corrupt and amoral Richmond is he decides to play mind games with him and the others. Richmond, at the same time, tells them that Whitney must be silenced permanently.
| Clint Eastwood | Luther Whitney |
| Gene Hackman | President Allen Richmond |
| Ed Harris | Seth Frank |
| Laura Linney | Kate Whitney |
| Scott Glenn | Bill Burton |
| Dennis Haysbert | Tim Collin |
| Judy Davis | Gloria Russell |
| E.G. Marshall | Walter Sullivan |
| Melora Hardin | Christy Sullivan |
| Kenneth Welsh | Sandy Lord |
| Penny Johnson | Laura Simon |
| Richard Jenkins | Michael McCarty |
| Mark Margolis | Red Brandsford |
| Elaine Kagan | Valerie |
| Alison Eastwood | Art Student |
| Clint Eastwood |
6.50 out of 10 (14407 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Good to mediocre suspense movie.
posted on 08 Jul 2009Fairly well done suspense drama. It was somewhat predictable, however, and the story line was totally implausible. Eastwood fans will appreciate this one, though. Clint is eminently likeable, even when he plays a criminal. (But, boy, he is sure getting old.....!)
A Watchable Thriller
posted on 29 Apr 2009Sometimes the results of being both director and actor have diminished Clint Eastwood's work, such as his poor showing in "Blood Work". However, this thriller moves along at a good pace with good performances all around. As Luther, an accomplished thief, Clint fits the bill and establishes credible relationships with his daughter and his pursuers. The supporting actors turn in good performances. Of particular note is Ed Harris, who does a fine job as a homicide detective. A weak plot point is the apparent difficulty the police seem to have in figuring out obvious crime scene staging. Another weakness is the ending. As usual, Hollywood writing takes the easy way out. But these are relative quibbles in an otherwise watchable thriller.
I just love it! Absolute perfection.
posted on 17 Apr 2009I wonder where would the whole movie industry be without a man called Clint Eastwood? As a more personal note I (as a fanatic long-time fan) might ask how could I possibly survive without him and his excellent movies? If I'm not going over my limits here, one of the main reasons to stay alive is a chance to watch his flicks over and over again and maybe catch his next movie because thank god he won't retire no matter what.Is there any other actor/director who's more capable of directing terrific movies one after another and perform a leading role in almost all of them? And all this with a style nobody can't quite imitate. Shame on me if I find even one movie he has made that I don't like. I remember when "Absolute power" was in the movie theaters and I went to see it for the very first time. After the flick all I could say was "Clint my man, you did it again".Recently he hasn't done anything I could rate less than 10. "Absolute power" is a perfect thriller and a magnificent ride. Cast is fantastic, Gene Hackman who won the Oscar from "Unforgiven" hasn't lost his "it" and Ed Harris is a swell man to spice things up. Clint - as an old bloke - is having a time of his life in the leading role. This is a movie that people will appreciate and look up as a classic years from now. All Clint Eastwood really needs is a good story and he instantly turns it into a masterpiece. What a magician... Easy to say "Absolute power" is one of his best works in the 90's.
Competent and entertaining
posted on 11 Apr 2009Aboslute Power is competently made and entertaining enough. Judy Davis is excellent, Hackman does Hackman and Ed Harris confirms himself as this era's top character actor. It is a pleasure to watch E.G. Marshall in one of his last roles. As one might expect because a star plays him, the criminal is a "good" criminal arrayed against a corrupt system (compare with Eastwood's Alcatraz movie, and True Crime). I am a little troubled by the depiction of the president as amoral. Is this Eastwood's statement against government in general, or the previous holder of that office? Perhaps conservative actors will make this kind of movie to balance Rob Reiner and Michael Douglas's gushy depiction of a liberal president.
Pleasantly Mediocre.
posted on 11 Apr 2009Absolute Power (1997, R)Produced and Directed by Clint Eastwood.Written by William GoldmanLet me start off saying two things to two people. Number one, to William Goldman: I'm not saying this because I'm supporting or defending Clinton (which I'm NOT), but do please stop writing political thrillers. Number two, to Ed Harris: well, at least it was better than Stepmom.Number three actually would have gone to Clint Eastwood: please stop starring, producing, and directing your own movies but he obviously got the point as nary a frame of the intriguing Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil shows him.That said, let's go on to my review of Absolute Power, which is twenty notches above Murder at 1600, which I saw being filmed, but a hundred notches below Six Days in May, In the Line of Fire, or about any other political thriller you can name.Absolute Power is pleasantly medicore. You don't expect much, and you don't get much.It is yet another film following the Clinton chic of films, books, etc which show our nations President as someone who's able to get laid, in constrast to someone who couldn't get it up without Viagra. Absolute Power is the story of a President who has sex with a girl and, whoops, ends up killing her. Unlike Murder at 1600, which shows the girl being done right in the opening credits, Absolute Power waits a nice ten to fifteen minutes before getting down to business.When it gets down to business, Luther (Clint Eastwood ) is breaking into an estate to steal millions. His perfect heist is interrupted by something unplanned: the president is going to have sex with the billionaires wife. Things get a little rough, one thing leads to another, and the girl ends up shot by secret service agents seconds before she's going to give President Al (Gene Hackman) a Lorraina Bobbit.Of course, since we live in the wonderful democracy where everyone is free to make a dumbly plotted and cliche film as they want, the Chief of Staff decides its for the best if the girl stumbled upon a burglary and was shot. Forget for a second that her dress has been ripped, the President's fingerprints are all over her, and a secret service agent (Scott Glenn) made sure he hadn't done a Bill Clinton.Now, going out of the character of a jewel thief who just witnessed a murder from a secret room and stole $5,000,000 worth of material, Clint grows a heart, picks up the piece of evidence left behind, and leaves. Of course secret service agents chase him. Of course he runs into a cop (Ed Harris) who believes him because the facts don't add up, and of course his daughter (Laura Linney) grows closer to the old man through a complicated process of stocking her fridge at just the right time and saving her life.The only really redeeming aspects to the film, the saving graces against terrible performances by the ensemble cast and William Goldman's piss-poor script is the steely direction by Clint Eastwood. Mixing in just the right amount of light, the right tone and time of the music and working with such a terrible script, Clint Eastwood does directing up to par with A Perfect World and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. He's as good of a director as he always was, and that alone makes the film enjoyable. He gives as much that he can to a movie with such a bad script, as do the actors. This will be on the movie's gravestone: "They tried, they really tried".Now, from all of this, you'd expect that I'm telling you to skip Absolute Power. I'm not. I'm just saying don't drive to rent it. Should Absolute Power be on TMC or Showtime, like it was for me, go ahead and watch it. You'll have fun. If you're a Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry jag, see it. It's just up in the air.
Quite absurd
posted on 08 Apr 2009I am a fan of Clint Eastwood's, but this time no! He soon discovered he was following the wrong trail and got bored and gave it up. The beginning maybe farfetched, but the ending is a travesty. We are told things happened that should be on screen; but seeing wouldn't have been believing it, and so - to paraphrase Mark Twain - he's drawn the curtain in a rush for pity's sake.Hackman has played the same role much better (and in a better movie) in the past, so he is very bored and he looks it.Casting people apparently wanted the late Lotte Lenya (Mrs. Klebb, remember?) for the part of the President's Chief of Staff, but had to compromise. Only Ed Harris is saved, as always (he's played in a lot of bad movies to be sure), excellent actor that he is.Now Clint may have been very angry with Bill at the time -- but this is no way to show him he was a bad boy. He stops short from having a burglar save America from an evil President, and gives the knife to a millionaire philanthropist, who's wife by the way the Big One was about to bang. Now the millionaire philanthropist knew very well his wife did such things, but the President was his friend and no friend should do such a thing to his friend's wife? Right, guys? The milk-man would be eligible of course.What a great pity. Eastwood has directed (and played in) some of the best American films, during the last decades. This must be not only his worse one but one of the worst ever.
CLINT EASTWOOD - MASTER DIRECTOR!
posted on 30 Mar 2009Clint Eastwood shows some great directorial work in this dramatic thriller, which he completed earlier than scheduled. A must see, but pay attention to the plot because it may become a little bit tricky to understand. However, this movie's excellent!
Absolute evil!
posted on 12 Mar 2009I just saw "Absolute power". I think I have seen this movie years ago and had no idea of the ending. How ever I gave this movie 10/10 since I think the story and the actors are more than great. The story is "true to the heart" so to speak. This is like most of my favorite movies, something that could happen in real life and this is why it is excellent in my opinion. Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman and Ed Harris is the best combination, they together are doing 95% of "Absolute Power". I doubt the movie would have been the same without the three of them. This movie is "Absolute evil" and it is a must to see this at least once in your life. I wish they would make this great movies now days. Go Clint go!
Old Clint never betrays
posted on 12 Mar 2009Clint Eastwood has taken the book by David Baldacci and changed a lot of things. First, his character (MAYBE I'M SPOILING!) doesn't die anymore and I think it's better for the movie, because Luther is a very funny and nice thief, you can't be against him. Gene Hackman portraits a cruel president, who could be the joy of every Kenneth Starr but the best actor of the movie is the great Judy Davis (really she deserved the Oscar). Her staff chief Gloria Russell is my favorite character of the movie, deeply but timidly in love with her president and totally devoted to him. The scene, when they dance at the White House and he reveals to her that the necklace is the one of the dead woman, is one of the highest moments of a thriller well acted, well written, well everything.
It has something missing
posted on 08 Feb 2009First, I must say that I am a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, since his early days as the man with no name.....
I bought this movie without even watching it once, I saw the actors list and read the plot on the back of the dvd and thought to myself "This got to be the hell of a movie".
After finishing I didn't think the same. I mean, it has great actors and the story is great but it has something missing for my opinion, things get smooth really easy at the end.
However I haven't regreted the fact of buying it, is a good movie, not just as good as you could imagine.
The caracter played by Eastwood is, opposite to what you may think a great father, and he would do anything to protect his daughter.
Ed Hackman's caracter is a coward hidding behind secret services... I love him when he loses (like in Runaway Jury for example).
Anyway, just watch the movie and since is a Eastwood movie, you already know who will win at the end........
tense powerful crime and brilliance from Eastwood
posted on 07 Feb 2009The 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.
They Absolutely Blew it !!!
posted on 16 Dec 2008The first 15 to 20 minutes of this film are excellent. There's almost no dialogue and lots of suspense as Luther (Clint Eastwood) a jewel thief, robs a Washington officials apartment. He's almost caught and then witnesses a sleazy sex liaison and murder performed by the President of the United States (Gene Hackman -who mercilessly chews the scenery in this one). Unfortunately what follows becomes more and more unbelievable and the film disintegrates as unrealistic characters appear in the film and it becomes another dumb wanna-be-Hollywood blockbuster kind of film. Surprisingly it was written by William Goodman who has detailed he wasn't happy with the way the film turned but respects the way director and star Clint Eastwood works very much. (1997 - Directed by Clint Eastwood)
Beats True Crime
posted on 15 Dec 2008Absolute Power is an exciting thriller and one of the better latter-day films that Clint has starred in. I thought True Crime was mediocre, Space Cowboys nothing but a gathering of names, Bloodwork pretty lame and boring and Million Dollar Baby...well, it's not really a Clint Eastwood film, is it? It is a Hilary Swank film, although Clint made perhaps his greatest performance ever in it.Anyway, the first couple times I watched Absolute Power, I thought it was OK but didn't do anything special for me. It is only now, after seeing it again after many years that I see its' quality. Not among Eastwood's greatest works or roles, but another exciting and pleasing work. After the sappiness of Bridges of Madison County this came as a breath of fresh air for us who appreciate "the real" Clint Eastwood. I am not putting down on that film either, but such roles are not really where he is best put at use.This film boasts a really marvelous supporting cast consisting of Gene Hackman, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris and Judy Davis. All class acts. So if you have never seen it and are a fan of Eastwood, see it! If you have seen it before, but didn't quite get into it, give it another try. This really is one of Clint's last good thrillers, perhaps the last one that resembles his true classics.
Inappropriate Title...Good movie
posted on 13 Dec 2008This movie starts in the most smooth of ways and it carries for the first thirty minutes. It's just very well synchronised and there were around 10-15 minutes where not a single dialogue were spoken. It keeps the viewer interested. It looks like a simple movie in the end. It perfectly fits the three star grade but that doesnt mean its a bad movie. It's just that it's probably one of the best three start movies you will see.
Ed Harris acts really well in this film and there's this certain level of professionalism I notice in Sir Clint Eastwood which is what I appreciate about him.
An Average story played out in a great way.
Watch it no matter what.Definitely worth your 2 hours.
HSA
ABSOLUTE POWER!
posted on 28 Nov 2008CLINT EASTWOOD is master thief Luther Whitney, who has a front seat view for MURDER! Imagine his SURPRISE when he sees the PRESIDENT of the United States fooling around with a woman, his SHOCK when things turn violent an dhis HORROR when the Secret Service blows her away! SEE Gene Hackman as the President, Ed Harris as the Cop on the trail of the truth, and Scott Glenn as one of the Secret Service agents GONE WRONG! Clint starts to run, but not for long! You will WEEP when his daughter visits his house and finds all these photographs taken by the FATHER she thought did not care about her! This is a suspensful THRILLER where Clint's character starts out on the wrong side of the law but then helps JUSTICE prevail! Directed by CLINT EASTWOOD himself!
A gripping thriller
posted on 10 Nov 2008Clint Eastwood is a professional thief in the middle of plying his trade when a middle aged man brings a young woman into the bedroom. Hidden in a vault behind a one way mirror, Eastwood witnesses the woman's rape and her murder. And he noticed the killer is president of the United States. Now the question is what to do about what he has seen ?
Fast paced, tense and surprising ending.
posted on 01 Oct 2008Enjoyable, reminds me of Hitchcock's films in a way. Have seen it several times, and own the VCR tape and will look at it many more times. In view of the political climate when this was made, a completely plausible plot, and a satisfying resolution of the problem.
Clint gives a suberb performance as a ageing cop
posted on 29 Sep 2008Clint gives one of his greatest performances as cooler king Virgil Hilts. Hilts is an American spy pretending to be a pilot in Vietnam. Watch out for the great chase scene at the end whe Hilts try's to jump the barb wire on a motor bike. Al Pacino is great as the Polish fireman as is Marlon Brando as the Scottish priest.
A solid thriller with a message
posted on 09 Aug 2009Absolute Power is not among Clint Eastwood greatest films, but it's much better than is usually given credit for. A dark thriller, directed as professionally and bleakly as only Eastwood can do it, Absolute Power centers around Luther Whitney, a professional burglar (Eastwood himself, in one of his best performances in the last decade), who finds himself in a classic wrong place, wrong time situation – while robbing a luxurious mansion, he accidentally witnesses a sexual assault and a murder, and the subsequent cover-up, that involves the President of the United States and the White House staff. That scene at the very beginning of the movie is probably the strongest one in it, Eastwood making brilliant use of cinematography, music (and especially the lack of) and his trademark heavy contrasted lighting, and with almost no dialog at all, it's a remarkably effective scene that overshadows much of the rest of the film.Still, as the film turns into a more standard conspiracy-thriller, it holds its own quite well, mainly due to William Goldman's wonderful script (as his always are, this is the genius who wrote 'The Princess Bride', 'Marathon Man', 'Misery' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid', among others) and most of all thanks to the absolutely fantastic all-star cast; other than Clint himself, who is ideal as the charming, ruthless but honest criminal, fantastic performances are also given by Gene Hackman as the President and by Ed Harris as the detective on the case. The rest of the excellent cast includes Laura Linney ('Primal Fear') as Luther's daughter; the fantastic Judy Davis ('Naked Lunch', 'Barton Fink') as the President's sneaky assistant; Scott Glenn ('Buffalo Soldiers'); Dennis Haysbert ('Far From Heaven'); E.G. Marshall ('Tora! Tora! Tora!'); Penny Johnson ('24'); and Richard Jenkins ('Six Feet Under'). As is usually the case with Clint Eastwood's films, all the actors seem to have been hand-picked by him directly, rather than participated in an audition, because each character seems to have been designed specifically for the actor portraying them. Because of that cast and the brilliant directing and dialog, Absolute Power is an entirely gripping watch, even if the story is at times less than entirely convincing and just a little fragmented.Absolute Power tries to make its mark on three levels – the thriller level is the only one where it completely succeeds, and it manages to be constantly exciting, gripping and enticing. It works slightly less well on the human level, because the inter-character relationships are rather poorly developed. Laura Linney's character in particular is underdeveloped, and so the father-daughter relationship element hardly carries any weight in the story, and neither does her relationship with Ed Harris's character. As there is no interaction between Eastwood's character and Hackman's, the only relationships that are worth mentioning are the ones between Eastwood and Harris, which is strictly superficial and based on mutual respect, and the one between Hackman and Marshall, who plays the old billionaire who funded Hackman's rise to the presidency. The third level on which the film works is as political commentary; there it achieves partial success, as the story often seems contrived (although, one might note, not as contrived as we may imagine). Still, it can give you a general idea of how absolute power corrupts, and of the kind of horrors that the intricate systems of democracy might hide; but it's not to be taken too literally. The strongest elements of the story are the mystery, and Clint Eastwood's character, clearly the strongest in the film; as such it's a solid and enticing thriller with lots of atmosphere and wonderful acting, that will keep you glued to your seat.