By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * * )
The Vice-President has died and the leading candidate to replace him is Governor Jack Hathaway (William Petersen). But President Jackson Evans (Jeff Bridges) wants to appoint a woman and Senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), happily married with a young child, looks the
best choice.
A leading Republican, Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman), has found that Hanson might have been the life and soul of the student body in her early life.
So this political thriller becomes a shady story of confirmation hearings, backstage politics and rival investigations with two outstanding performances at its centre: Joan Allen as a woman with ethical standards that she will not bend and Gary Oldman as a man with no ethics at all.
Running time: 130 mins
Rental: Today
