| The Conspirator | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Redford |
| Produced by | Robert Redford Brian Falk Bill Holderman Greg Shapiro Robert Stone |
| Screenplay by | James D. Solomon |
| Story by | James D. Solomon Gregory Bernstein |
| Starring | James McAvoy Robin Wright Justin Long Danny Huston Evan Rachel Wood Tom Wilkinson Alexis Bledel Kevin Kline Jonathan Groff Norman Reedus |
| Music by | Mark Isham |
| Cinematography | Newton Thomas Sigel |
| Editing by | Craig McKay |
| Studio | American Film Company Wildwood Enterprises |
| Distributed by | Roadside Attractions |
| Release date(s) | September 11, 2010 (2010 TIFF) April 15, 2011 |
| Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $25 million[1] |
| Box office | $14,996,313 [1] |
The Conspirator is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Robert Redford. It is the debut film of the American Film Company. The film tells the story of Mary Surratt, the only female conspirator charged in the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government. It stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Justin Long, Evan Rachel Wood, Jonathan Groff, Tom Wilkinson, Alexis Bledel, Kevin Kline, and Toby Kebbell.[2][3]
The Conspirator premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11, 2010 and a special premiere screening took place on March 29, 2011 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. A second premiere screening took place on April 10 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., the site of the assassination. The United States theatrical release took place on April 15, 2011, the 146th anniversary of the death of President Lincoln. The film was released in Canada on April 29 and was released in the UK on July 1. Lionsgate Home Entertainment released the DVD and Blu-ray on August 16, 2011.[4][5]
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In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, eight people are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 27-year-old Union war hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal.
Aiken is at first very reluctant to take the case and believes his client is guilty. However, he uncovers evidence casting doubt on the allegations and conducts a spirited defense. He realizes his client is being used as bait and a hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John Surratt (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.
Principal photography began in October 2009, in Savannah, Georgia and wrapped in December 2009.
The Mary E. Surratt Boarding House still stands, and is located at 604 H Street NW in Washington, D.C. Mary Surratt's farmhouse in Clinton, Maryland, is now a museum. The town in which the farmhouse stands was originally called Surrattsville. The United States Post Office renamed the town Robeysville due to the notoriety of the Surratt name. In 1879, Robeysville was renamed Clinton.
The Conspirator has received a mixed reception from critics, with Metacritic giving the film a weighted average score of 55/100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[9] Rotten Tomatoes reports that 56% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 160 reviews, with an average score of 6.1/10 and a consensus that, "The Conspirator is well cast and tells a worthy story , but many viewers will lack the patience for Redford's deliberate, stagebound approach." 63% of the site's 'top critics' gave the film a positive review with an average score of 6.7/10.[10]
The Conspirator did poorly at the box office doing $11,538,204 gross on a 25 million dollar budget.[11]
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