“TIMES OF WAR”

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

The Conspirator is a very good film about a little-known aspect of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, but it is not an exciting film.

In other words, there are no sensational car chases, no loud explosions, and no amazing special effects. Nor does it have any super heroes, it is not based on a video game, and it has no animated characters whatsoever, all ingredients that the kids today seem to be fascinated with.

What it does have is a compelling story, fine acting, and a producer and director by the name of Robert Redford.

The story is about the trial of Mary Surratt, played by Robin Wright, who owned a boarding house in Washington, DC, and who was a Southern sympathizer, a widow, and the mother of a son and a daughter.

Mary is on trial as a co-conspirator of the plot to assassinate Lincoln, because the men who planned to kill Lincoln along with the Vice-President and the Secretary of State were suspected of meeting in her boarding house to make their plans.

Her lawyer is Capt. Frederick Aiken, played by James McAvoy, who had served in in the Union army during the war. Aiken is reluctant to defend her and at one point even says, “I am eager to put the war behind me.”

Senator Johnson from Maryland tells Aiken that Mary is entitled to a defense and that Aiken should obey his oath as an attorney and do his job to defend her.

However, the prosecution had four months to prepare its case, and Aiken has only one day. Also, he knows that if she is found guilty, people will say that he was not up to the task of defending her.

Mary is also not cooperative with Aiken. Her son is more likely to have been one of the conspirators than she was, but her son is missing, and if Mary knows where he is hiding, she won’t tell anyone where he is.

So, not only is the film a courtroom drama, but it is also a period piece with the actors wearing clothing that is unfamiliar to the audience. In fact, you might not even recognize some of the actors whom you know and admire.

The Conspirator, however, is a good film that shows in times of war, the law falls silent.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”