Absolute Power (1997) political thriller directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. 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.[1]
It is also features the final film appearance of actor E.G. Marshall.
Plot
Master thief Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood) breaks into the home of billionaire Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall). When Sullivan's younger wife Christy (Melora Hardin) arrives home unexpectedly with the President of the United States (Alan Richmond (Gene Hackman)), Luther hides behind a one-way mirror and watches them engage in rough sex. When the President gets too rough, Christy attacks him with a letter opener. The President screams when he is wounded in the arm, at which time two Secret Service agents, Bill Burton (Scott Glenn) and Tim Collin (Dennis Haysbert), burst in and shoot Christy to death. They and Chief of Staff Gloria Russell (Judy Davis) then clean up the scene of the crime, deciding to make it appear as if a burglar killed her. Luther is discovered, but escapes with various valuables--including the letter opener that has on it the woman's fingerprints and the President's blood.
Meanwhile, Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris), who is investigating the crime, identifies Luther as one of the few criminals able to plan and execute such a complex burglary. Inconsistent clues at the crime scene puzzle Frank thoroughly, and although he is sure that Luther is involved in the case, he does not consider him his prime suspect in Christy's murder. Luther surprises his estranged daughter Kate (Laura Linney) on a running trail, where he tells her that he is planning on leaving the country in a few days, for a long duration (if not permanently). Kate is aware of Luther's past criminal history, and chooses not to associate with him.
After a brief encounter with Luther at an art museum, Seth decides to interview Kate. However, Kate refuses to tell Seth anything particularly useful about her father.
At the airport and preparing to flee the country, Luther sees the President holding a press conference with Sullivan. When the President expresses his "support" for his oldest friend and vows that the murderer will be brought to justice, the show of hypocrisy incenses Luther and he vows to bring the President to justice.
At the White House, Agent Burton has been instructed by the President to make contact with Seth. Another Secret Service agent posing as a telephone repairman bugs Seth's office phone while Burton distracts him with conversation outside, asking that the White House be notified as developments arise.
Together with Kate, for whom he feels a growing attraction, Seth enters Luther's townhouse and Kate sees the numerous photos of her that line her father's house, including photos where she did not know he was there, which moves her deeply. But the suspicion that he might be Christy Sullivan's murderer gnaws heavily on her.
Seth asks Kate to leave a message on her father's answering machine, saying that she is worried about him and asking him to meet her. Kate is reluctant, but eventually goes along with Seth's plan after he assures her that he will guarantee her father's safety. After Luther rings Kate back, agreeing to the plan, Kate telephones Detective Seth to tell him the time and location of the meeting. Agent Burton learns about the plan through the wiretap. Luther, meanwhile, is taunting the President, Chief of Staff Russell, and Agents Burton and Collins by sending them photographs of the bloodied letter opener.
The next day, near the planned meeting zone (a cafe in an open-air plaza near Kate's office), the police and Agent Burton are planning the police cordon to net Luther when he arrives for the meet. Meanwhile, Agent Burton has installed Agent Collins with a sniper rifle in a maintenance van parked near the cafe. The White House has also leaked details of the meet to Walter Sullivan, who hires his own sniper to kill Luther, who Sullivan wrongly believes is responsible for his wife's murder.
Luther arrives and talks briefly with Kate. Sullivan's sniper fires, but hits the table umbrella. Agent Collins also misses, smashing a shop window. Detective Seth orders the police to move in, but Luther escapes.
Seth accompanies Kate back to her apartment, where Kate discovers that her fridge, previously empty, has been stocked with healthy food and drink, which she knows is her father's work. After Frank leaves, Luther reveals himself and explains to her what happened the night of the Sullivan job. Kate begs him to go to the police, but Luther refuses, saying that Detective Frank would not believe him, and also suspecting that the Secret Service would have him for an easy target once he'd surrender himself.
The next morning, Luther anonymously delivers Gloria Russell the necklace which, unbeknownst to her, had been worn by Christy when the Secret Service agents killed her, complete with a note which Luther had forged in the President's handwriting. When Russell wears it to a White House dinner party later that evening, the President recognizes the necklace as well, and subsequently he instructs Agents Collins and Burton to kill Kate, as he rightly suspects that she may know about the truth as well.
Agents Collins and Burton take over the surveillance on Kate from Detective Seth's team. Luther learns about this when he rings Detective Frank, and races back to DC to protect his daughter. Meanwhile, the Secret Service agents have tailed Kate to a coastal lookout and rammed her car - with her still inside it - over a grassy parking lot and down a steep cliff. Luther arrives just as the Secret Service agents are leaving, and Kate is transferred to a hospital. Agent Collins makes another attempt to kill her by lethal injection, but before he can insert the syringe, Luther, who has been watching over his daughter all the time, catches him from behind and jams his own syringe into Agent Collins' neck. Luther then disposes of Agent Collins' body.
Luther first seeks out Detective Frank and informs him that he knows about Christy's true murders, then he temporarily incapacitates Walter Sullivan's chauffeur and takes his place. He drives Sullivan around Washington after Sullivan's dinner engagement, explaining to him what really went on the night of the murder and handing over the bloodied letter opener, sealed in an evidence bag. Luther the drops Sullivan off outside of the White House.
Alerted by a subtle clue dropped by Luther, Frank arrives at Agent Burton's office. In remorse for the attempt on Kate, Burton has committed suicide and left audio tapes confessing the whole story, and on the basis of this evidence, Detective Frank arrests Gloria Russell. Meanwhile, Sullivan sneaks the bloodied letter opener in through White House security, and meets with the President.
Breaking news reports claim that the President has apparently committed suicide by stabbing himself to death. Sullivan is interviewed and appears to support this interpretation of events, but the implication is clearly that he avenged his wife's death by killing the President himself.
The film ends with Luther in Kate's hospital room, sitting by her bedside and sketching her. Detective Frank drops in briefly and strokes Kate's head. Luther suggests Kate invite Frank over for dinner, to which Kate smiles.
Production
When Clint 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 what 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."[2]
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 from that of 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.
- The novel's end is entirely different from that of the film: President Richmond is either impeached or resigns (it is not clearly mentioned in the book) 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, Agent Burton commits suicide in his home rather than office, Luther is killed 2/3 through the book by Agent Collin, Walter Sullivan is killed halfway through the book by Agent Burton, 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
- Opening weekend U.S. gross: $16,770,220
- Total U.S. box office gross: $50,068,310
Cast
References
External links
