Well, it would appear that I’ve finally run out of old school Clint Eastwood thrillers. They were somewhat of a safe choice for me on those nights when I didn’t have the energy for something new. So, no Dirty Harry, no drama, and no Westerns, which leaves us with just a couple of movies. I am yet to watch The Rookie and True Crime because they seem a bit wobbly. However, I can safely say that In The Line Of Fire, Blood Work and the movie we’re going to be talking about today are all worth watching. Absolute Power is a slow-burning thriller about an aging thief who sees something he shouldn’t have and ends up in a middle of a huge clusterfuck.
A clusterfuck involving criminals, the police, the secret service, and even the fucking president! It’s based on the 1996 novel Absolute Power by David Baldacci. If this seems a bit fast, it’s because it most certainly is. I’m not sure the story was that good but here we are. It does have strong neo-noir vibes and there were many changes to accommodate Clint’s more commercial, crowd-pleasing approach. Screenwriter William Goldman was under strict instructions: “everyone the audience likes doesn’t get killed off.” At least Baldacci got a cool five mill for the rights. Clint, who was also the director assembled quite a cast here.
We’ve got Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, and Scott Glenn just to name a few. Apart from the main story, we’ve got a couple of interesting themes, one of them being the art. Although I think since the other one is sex, it’s just a tad bit more potent. Don’t worry, Clint isn’t going to hook up with someone in an awkwardly forced romantic subplot. The pacing is acceptable and I loved the straightforward storytelling. We’re going to be following three different operations all coming to head during the final minutes of the movie. Granted, all of them are a bit superficial but that’s just how things were back in the nineties.
I actually laughed out loud when the Secret Service agents started their crime scene clean up. I mean, vacuuming the blood from the carpet is not going to do much buddy. It’s the little things like these that tell us just how far we’ve come. And it’s the little things like these that put a smile on my face. The “fuck it” culture of the nineties is still alive and well in this home. Imagine this story in the hands of a detail-oriented and cynical director and writer. I don’t know why the name Fincher just popped into my brain but it fucking did. Absolute Power reminds me of another nineties thriller, The Jackal.
However, the above-mentioned 1994 In The Line Of Fire, also starring Clint is a much better fit. I’ll throw in Hackman’s Under Suspicion as a bonus. So, if you’re looking for movies like this, you should check them out. In the end, Absolute Power is a perfectly watchable movie and a good way to kill two hours. It does lose some steam toward the end and gets a bit clunky but still manages to deliver a satisfying ending. I feel like there’s a lot of room for improvement here, especially when it comes to the other characters.
Scott Glenn, who plays the Secret Service agent Bill Burton, gave one hell of a performance. And I wish we learned more about Billy and his moral dilemmas. The same goes for Judy Davis and her character of Gloria Russell. However, we all know who’s running the show here and who’s going to get the most screen time. I wonder if will we ever see a remake of this movie. The story remains intriguing with enough sub-plots to even make one of those mini-series that are so popular nowadays.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Writers: David Baldacci, William Goldman
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Scott Glenn, Dennis Haysbert
Fun Facts: The budget for the movie Absolute Power was $50 million despite it not featuring any CGI or expensive stunts and scenes. Most of the money went toward the cast with Ed Harris reportadly being paid $2.5 million.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118548/
