Seven political thrillers you have to watch
BIG budget poltical films Vice and The Front Runner have fizzled at the box office and struggled to excite fans and critics alike, so we’ve dug out six big hitters from recent years to help scratch that itch for a great political thriller (and where you can watch them).
SUCH is the state of world affairs at the moment, it’s a hard task for filmmakers to create compelling politial thrillers that are more enthralling than the stories being churned out by the
24-hour news cycle.
Love him or loathe him, US President Donald Trump has provided no shortage of drama since moving into the Oval Office in January 2017. The Brexit debacle in the UK is starting to look like an episode of Yes, Prime Minister. And in our own backyard, you’d be forgiven for regularly checking who the leader of the country is on any given day.
Big-budget political biopics have been largely absent in recent years, but that drought was broken with the polarising Adam McKay film Vice, a satirical look at the political and personal life of former US vice-president Dick Cheney. Critics are split, with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes putting it at 66 per cent. The public have voted with their wallets as well, with the box office not yet recovering its $60 million price tag.
But having picked up a number of Oscar nominations, it still may see a bump if it can pick up a trophy or two.
Hugh Jackman’s The Front Runner, the story of the rise and fall of US Senator and Democratic presidential nominee front runner Gary Hart and his extra-marital affair with Donna Rice, has flopped miserably.
The movie, which was released in the US on the day of the mid-term elections, has made just over $US2 million dollars.
It’s clear cinema-goers aren’t willing to part with their hard-earned cash if a political drama doesn’t immediately grab their attention. But if you’re in the mood for a politically-themed movie binge, here are the gems that get our vote as the best of the past few years.
1. DARKEST HOUR AND CHURCHILL
Both of these movies were made in 2017 and both are powerful portaits of one of the politlcal giants of the 20th century. Darkest Hour was a hit at the box office and Gary Oldman’s stunning transformation into Churchill deservedly won him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. The two stories focus on the former British PM’s war time exploits, but at opposite ends of the conflict. Darkest Hour looks at his rise to the top job and how he reacted when the German assault on Europe at the beginning of World War II threatened the United Kingdom, whereas Churchill, starring Brian Cox, deals with the 96 hours before the D-Day landing.
Darkest Hour available Foxtel On Demand; Churchill on DVD
2 A VERY ENGLISH SCANDAL
One of the great mini-series of 2018, A Very English Scandal has found itself on many a “must watch” list. Starring Hugh Grant and Ben Whishaw, it tells the
story of British Liberal MP Jeremy Thorpe who was accused of trying to have a former male lover murdered to keep his homosexuality a secret and protect his rising political career.
Available Foxtel On Demand
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3 CHAPPAQUIDDICK
Starring Australian actor Jason Clarke and Kate Mara, Chappaquiddick recounts the incredible story of US Senator Ted Kennedy, who was involved in a crash after a party that left a young female staffer dead. It would be 10 hours after the crash, after Kennedy had returned to his hotel and taken a bath, before he reported the accident to police. The movie explores the aftermath, which tarnished the reputation of Kennedy and the Democratic party for years.
Available Foxtel On Demand
4 THE POST
This Oscar-nominated movie from Steven Spielberg chronicles The Washington Post’s daring and controversial decision to print the Pentagon Papers. It focuses on Meryl Streep’s Katherine Graham, the first female publisher of a major US newspaper, and Ben Bradlee, the Post’s editor-in-chief, and their epic struggle in deciding to take on the government — risking the paper’s existence — and publish the damning leaked documents.
Available Foxtel On Demand
5 SPOTLIGHT
A gun team of investigative journalists work to uncover one of the biggest sexual abuse cover-ups in the US by one of the most powerful intitutions in the world: the Catholic Church. Spotlight is true story of the Boston Globe team who work against the odds to bring the story to light in what will ultimately start an avalanche of claims across the globe. The movie is an incredible look at the lengths the reporters went to uncover the truth and the struggle the victims had in coming forward.
Available Netflix
6 HAWKE
Closer to home, Hawke delved into the life of one of our favourite former prime ministers. Starring Richard Roxburgh as Bob Hawke and Asher Keddie as Blanche d’Alpuget, this three-part mini-series centres on his time as PM and the relationship he had with the Labor Party and his colleagues — most notably Paul Keating.
Available Netflix
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