I had every intention of seeing Robert Redford’s The Conspirator at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, but after negative buzz from the first showing the screening I scheduled myself to attend was canceled. From what I had heard the film was actually quite boring with stilted dialogue and played like a History Channel re-enactment rather than a feature film. Well, no doubt Redford has gone in to edit the film based on this response as Roadside Attractions prepares to release it on April 15 and today we get our first look at it as the trailer has just debuted online.
The film tells the story of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), alleged conspirator of Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth. I didn’t watch the trailer, but I scrolled through it looking for a screen capture to top this article and the one thing I did notice was the cinematography of Newton Thomas Sigel, a frequent DP for Bryan Singer on films such as Valkyrie, Superman Returns and his X-Men features. The soft lighting provides some kind of hazy glow over the entire picture. I’m not sure what I think of it, but it’s eye-catching nonetheless.
Despite negative early comments I am still hoping for the best from this film. The story sounds great and I hope Redford was able to clean it up. Have a look at the trailer directly below and let me know what you think in the comments.
