Absolute Power (film)

Absolute Power
Promotional poster
Directed by	Clint Eastwood
Produced by	Clint Eastwood Karen Spiegel
Written by	Novel: David Baldacci Screenplay: William Goldman
Starring	Clint Eastwood Gene Hackman Ed Harris Laura Linney Judy Davis Scott Glenn E.G. Marshall Dennis Haysbert
Music by	Lennie Niehaus
Cinematography	Jack N. Green
Editing by	Joel Cox
Studio	Castle Rock Entertainment Malpaso Productions
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (later Warner Bros.)
Release date(s)	February 14, 1997
Running time	121 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$50 million
Box office	$50,068,310

Absolute Power is a 1997 American political thriller produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood as a thief who witnesses a murder. The screenplay by William Goldman is based on the 1996 novel of the same name written by David Baldacci. It was screened out of competition at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

The film also stars Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Judy Davis, Laura Linney, Dennis Haysbert and Scott Glenn. It was also the last screen appearance of E.G. Marshall.

Plot

The story describes a conflict that arises after Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood), a master jewel thief, witnesses Secret Service agents killing Christy (Melora Hardin), the beautiful young wife of elderly billionaire Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall), during her drunken rendezvous with Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman), the President of the United States. Sullivan is Richmond's friend and financial supporter, and Richmond is a known philanderer. Luther has a daughter, Kate (Laura Linney), who works as a prosecutor and has been estranged from him for years.

Luther breaks into Sullivan's mansion while the Sullivan family is on vacation, but Christy and Richmond interrupt him as he robs the house, Christy having asked her family to go without her. Luther hides behind a one-way mirror and watches as they begin a sexual encounter. When Richmond, who is a sadist, slaps Christy and tries to strangle her, she attacks him with a letter opener; Richmond yells for help, and Secret Service agents Bill Burton (Scott Glenn) and Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert) shoot her to death. They and Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) then make the scene appear as if a burglar killed her. Luther escapes with some valuables and the bloody letter opener, but the Secret Service becomes aware of him.

Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris) investigates the crime. Luther quickly becomes a prime suspect in the burglary, but Frank does not believe he murdered Christy. As Luther is about to flee the country, he sees Richmond on television, vowing to find the murderer, and incensed by this hypocrisy, he decides to bring Richmond to justice. Meanwhile, Burton asks Frank to keep him informed about the case while a Secret Service agent bugs Frank's office telephone.

Kate takes Frank to Luther's town house to search for clues. Photographs of her indicate that Luther has secretly been watching her as she grew up, but she still suspects him of killing Christy, so she agrees to Frank's request that she meet with Luther. Frank guarantees Luther's safety, but Burton learns about the plan through the wiretap, and someone alerts Sullivan, who hires a hitman (Richard Jenkins) to kill Luther. At the meeting, Collin and Sullivan's sniper, each unaware of the other, try to shoot Luther, but they both miss, and Luther escapes through the police cordon by posing as a police officer. Frank takes Kate back to her apartment. After he leaves, Luther comes out of hiding in the apartment, explains to Kate how Christy was killed, and leaves.

Luther taunts Russell by sending her a photograph of the letter opener and tricking her into wearing Christy's necklace in public. Correctly suspecting that Kate knows the truth, Richmond orders Collin and Burton to kill her. When Frank tells Luther that the Secret Service has taken over surveillance of Kate, Luther races back to DC to protect her. He arrives at her jogging area just moments after Collin pushes her and her car off a cliff. Collin tries to kill her again at the hospital, but Luther stops him, jabbing him with another poison-filled syringe Luther brought with him, forcing Collin to drop his. When Collin pleads for mercy, Luther says he's "fresh out" and delivers the fatal dose.

After learning from Frank that Sullivan gave no reason why Christy stayed home (she had claimed to her husband - and to him only - that she was sick), Luther incapacitates Sullivan's chauffeur and drives Sullivan around Washington, telling him what happened on the night of the murder and explaining that Richmond incriminated himself in a speech by citing Christy's excuse for staying home, which he could only have learned from her. Luther gives Sullivan the letter opener and drops him off outside the White House, and Sullivan sneaks the letter opener into Richmond's office.

Meanwhile, alerted by Luther that his phones are bugged, Frank goes to Burton's office. In remorse for the attempt on Kate, Burton has committed suicide and left evidence, which Frank uses to arrest Russell. Later, on the television news, Sullivan claims that the President committed suicide by stabbing himself to death. It is unrevealed whether Sullivan himself stabbed Richmond or if Richmond indeed committed suicide so as to avoid punishment for his crimes. The film ends as Luther watches Kate in her hospital room. After Frank visits briefly, Luther suggests to Kate that she invite Frank to dinner and draws a sketch of Kate.

Cast

• Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney
• Gene Hackman as President Alan Richmond
• Ed Harris as Detective Seth Frank
• Laura Linney as Kate Whitney
• Scott Glenn as Agent Bill Burton
• Dennis Haysbert as Agent Tim Collin
• Judy Davis as Chief of Staff Gloria Russell
• E. G. Marshall as Walter Sullivan
• Melora Hardin as Christy Sullivan
• Kenneth Welsh as Sandy Lord
• Penny Johnson as Laura Simon
• Richard Jenkins as Michael McCarty
• Mark Margolis as Red Brandsford
• Elaine Kagan as Valerie

Production

When Eastwood first heard about turning the book into a film, he liked the characters and the basic plot, but disliked the fact that most of whom he considered the interesting characters were killed off. When he talked to screenwriter William Goldman, he requested Goldman make sure that "everyone the audience likes doesn't get killed off." Absolute Power was filmed between June and July 1996 in Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland.

Differences between book and film

• The main protagonist in the novel is a young lawyer named Jack Graham, a good friend of Luther's and his daughter Kate's ex-boyfriend. He was completely omitted in the film adaptation.
• The physical features of the characters in the novel are significantly different than in the film: President Richmond is much younger (described as being in his early 40s), Gloria Russell is younger as well (38 years old), Agent Collin is caucasian as opposed to being African-American in the film, and Walter Sullivan is slightly older in the book than in the film.
• Luther is caught by police instead of escaping when the snipers bungle their attempt to shoot him at his meeting with Kate, and then he is killed by Agent Collin while being brought into the courthouse for his arraignment.
• Walter Sullivan is killed 2/3 of the way through the book by Agent Burton after the president realizes that Sullivan has figured out, from the president's slip of the tongue about why Christy didn't go to Barbados, that the president was involved in her death.
• The novel's end is entirely different from that of the film: President Richmond is impeached and receives the death penalty, Gloria Russell receives 10 years probation rather than prison time in exchange for testifying against the president in court, Agent Collin is sentenced to 20 years in prison instead of being injected with poison by Luther, Agent Burton commits suicide in his home rather than his office, and Kate is not forced over a cliff in her car in the novel, but leaves Washington, D. C. and moves to Atlanta, Georgia.

Reception

The film received a mixed reaction from critics, with a score of 46% on Rotten Tomatoes. It was not a box office success domestically, grossing $16,770,220 on opening weekend. It had a total U.S. box office gross of $50,068,310, barely recouping its $50 million budget.

Bibliography

• Hughes, Howard (2009). Aim for the Heart. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 9781845119027. 

External links

• Absolute Power at the Internet Movie Database
• Absolute Power at the TCM Movie Database
• Absolute Power at AllRovi
• Absolute Power at Rotten Tomatoes
• Absolute Power at Box Office Mojo