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Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House

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Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Landesman
Written byPeter Landesman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAdam Kimmel
Edited byTariq Anwar
Music byDaniel Pemberton
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • September 8, 2017 (2017-09-08) (TIFF)
  • September 29, 2017 (2017-09-29) (United States)
Running time
103 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.8 million[2]

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House is a 2017 American biographical political thriller film directed and written by Peter Landesman, and based on the 2006 autobiography[3] of FBI agent Mark Felt, written with John O'Connor. The film depicts how Felt became an anonymous source ("Deep Throat") for reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, and helped them in the investigation which led them to the Watergate scandal.[4] The film stars Liam Neeson, Diane Lane, Tony Goldwyn, and Maika Monroe. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, and was theatrically released on September 29, 2017, by Sony Pictures Classics.

Cast

Liam Neeson (left) portrayed Mark Felt.

Production

An untitled project about FBI agent Mark Felt, known as Deep Throat, who was an informant for reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, was announced on January 24, 2006, written by Peter Landesman. The film was to be directed by Jay Roach for Universal Pictures and Playtone, and Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman were attached as producers.[5] On November 3, 2015, it was announced that Landesman would direct Felt himself, based on his script.[6] Liam Neeson was cast in the title role.[6] MadRiver Pictures financed the film and also produced it, along with Scott Free Productions, Playtone, and Cara Films, and producers Ridley Scott, Goetzman, Hanks, Giannina Scott, Marc Butan, Christopher Woodrow, Roach, and Landesman.[6] On November 5, 2015, Diane Lane was cast to play Felt's brilliant and troubled wife, Audrey, who shares the burden of Felt's dangerous dilemma about the White House's Watergate scandal.[7] On November 6, 2015, Jason Bateman joined the film to play an FBI agent and Felt lieutenant, Charlie Bates, who suspects that Felt is leaking classified information on the Watergate investigation.[8] On December 9, 2015, Maika Monroe also joined the cast, as Felt's daughter Joan.[9]

On April 29, 2016, a complete cast was announced; Tony Goldwyn as FBI intel chief Ed Miller; Kate Walsh as Miller's wife, Pat; Josh Lucas as Charlie Bates, replacing Bateman; Michael C. Hall as John Dean; Marton Csokas and Tom Sizemore as Felt's rivals at the FBI, Pat Gray and Bill Sullivan, respectively; Wendi McLendon-Covey as Felt's secretary, Carol Tschudy; Ike Barinholtz as head of the Watergate investigation, Angelo Lano; Bruce Greenwood as Time magazine reporter Sandy Smith; Brian d'Arcy James as FBI special agent Robert Kunkel; Noah Wyle as Stan Pottinger; and Colm Meaney and Eddie Marsan as CIA agents, though Meaney did not appear in the finished film.[10] Felt's real-life grandson Will Felt also appears in a background cameo as a CIA agent, and Daniel Pemberton composed the film's score.[11]

Principal photography on the film began on May 2, 2016, in Atlanta.[12][13]

Release

In May 2017, Sony Pictures Classics acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.[14] It premiered as part of the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8,[15] and was theatrically released in the United States on September 29, 2017.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 36% based on 109 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4/10.[16] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 49 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17]

Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a generally positive review, praising Neeson while criticizing the script and writing, "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (please get a new title) does its job of presenting who Mark Felt was and what a burden it was for him personally to betray his beloved FBI. And if you want to know more about Felt (or, maybe, you just like Liam Neeson), then Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House does its job. But, I’d recommend anyone palette cleanse after by watching All the President’s Men."[18]

Additional footage and Diane Lane's performance

Much of Diane Lane's performance was cut due to running time constraints. At a press conference, director Peter Landesman and Liam Neeson both championed Lane's performance, saying how devastated they all were (especially Lane herself) that so much of her work was not in the finished film. There were hints that the scenes may be included as "deleted scenes" or as part of an "extended cut" on the home video release of the film.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House". tiff. Retrieved September 8, 2017.
  2. ^ "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  3. ^ "Mark Felt".
  4. ^ " "Woodward and Bernstein expressed a concern that the Deep Throat story has, over the years, come to eclipse the many other elements that went into exposing the Watergate story. "Felt/Deep Throat largely confirmed information we had already gotten from other sources." --"The Watergate Story, Part 4: Deep Throat Revealed", Washington Post archives on line".
  5. ^ Fleming, Michael (January 24, 2006). "Helmer digs 'Deep'". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Jaafar, Ali (November 3, 2015). "Liam Neeson In Talks To Topline Watergate Pic 'Felt' With Peter Landesman Helming – AFM". deadline.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  7. ^ McNary, Dave (November 5, 2015). "Diane Lane Joins Liam Neeson's Spy Thriller 'Felt'". variety.com. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  8. ^ Kit, Borys (November 6, 2015). "Jason Bateman Joins Liam Neeson in Watergate Thriller 'Felt'". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (December 20, 2015). "'It Follows' Star Maika Monroe Joins Liam Neeson in 'Felt' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  10. ^ Jr, Mike Fleming (April 29, 2016). "Tony Goldwyn, Josh Lucas, Michael C Hall, Marton Csokas & Kate Walsh Surround Liam Neeson For Watergate Thriller 'Felt'". Deadline. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  11. ^ "Daniel Pemberton Scoring Peter Landesman's 'Felt'". FilmMusicReporter. January 17, 2017. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  12. ^ "Liam Neeson's 'Felt' Atlanta Casting Call for Cops". Project Casting. 9 May 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016.
  13. ^ "On the Set for 5/6/16: Taron Egerton Starts 'Kingsman' Sequel, Hugh Jackman Begins on 'Wolverine 3', Rooney Mara & Robert Redford Finish 'The Discovery'". SSN Insider. May 6, 2016. Archived from the original on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2016. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ McNary, Dave (May 25, 2017). "Sony Classics Buys Liam Neeson's Watergate Drama 'Silent Man'". Variety. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  15. ^ Pond, Steve (August 15, 2017). "Aaron Sorkin, Brie Larson, Louis CK Movies Added to Toronto Film Festival Lineup". The Wrap. Retrieved August 15, 2017.
  16. ^ "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  17. ^ "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  18. ^ Ryan, Mike (September 8, 2017). "TIFF Review: Liam Neeson Goes All In As Watergate's Deep Throat In 'Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House'". Uproxx. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "What's left out of Mark Felt: The man who brought down the White House". Monsters and Critics. 2017-09-29. Retrieved 2017-10-09.
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