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The Conspirator | 2011 | PG-13 | - 1.7.4
Based on the true story of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), the sole female charged and tried as a co-conspirator in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. After an entire nation has turned against her, her only hope is her lawyer, the reluctant former Union soldier Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy). Also with Evan Rachel Wood, Alexis Bledel, Justin Long, Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Kline and Danny Huston. Directed by Robert Redford. [2:03]
SEX/NUDITY 1 - A man and a woman hold hands, sitting side by side and kiss. A woman kisses a man on the cheek.
► It is implied that a young woman tells a man that she had a crush on another man; the man asks her if she kept his picture because she liked him.
► A young woman teases a man, saying he would be embarrassed to be seen with her. A man tells several men and women a story of a man showing his bare buttocks to another man (we see no nudity); the man laughs and denies the story.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 7 - A man approaches a man sitting on a chair, he throws the man to the ground, knocking him unconscious, he then breaks through a door and shoots a man in the back of the head (we see blood pour from the wound as a woman screams and men surround the injured man); the shooter stabs another man in the shoulder and leaps onto a stage, waving the bloody knife before a crowd.
► Countless wounded soldiers are seen on a battlefield, presumably dead; blood is seen on their bodies and wounds are visible on their chests, legs and faces. Two injured soldiers are seen; one man's legs are covered in blood and appear to be crushed and another man holds his hand over a bloody wound on his own chest (they are later seen recovered and the man with the leg injuries is using a cane).
► Several soldiers surround a barn where two men are hiding, they light the bushes around the barn on fire and soon one of the men comes out of the barn, hands held in the air; the second man stays in the barn, coughing as a soldier sticks a rifle through a hole in the boards and shoots him in the back (he falls to the ground, dead, and no blood is visible).
► A man enters a building and punches another man guarding a door, he breaks through the door and punches another man, and he falls to the ground and stabs another man lying in a hospital bed with his head and neck in a brace; a woman screams in terror as the man stabs the immobilized man countless times (no blood is visible) and we later learn that the man was almost killed but survived the attack.
► We see a woman and three men being lead to a gallows by armed soldiers as a crowd of people watch; hoods are placed over their heads, their hands and legs are bound, nooses are slipped over their heads, the floor drops below them and we see their bodies writhing momentarily and then swinging.
► A man is carried through a crowded street, he appears dead (blood is seen on the hands of the man carrying the man's head), and he is laid on a bed as a woman screams and cries and a doctor carries a bowl from the room (blood is seen inside the bowl); we learn that the man had been shot in the head and died.
► A man shoves another man, a third man draws his gun and aims it at one of the men and then drops it. A man is about to draw his gun in a crowded courtroom, and two soldiers grab him by the arms and drag him away. A man sees the shadow of a person in the darkness, he grabs for the person's neck and starts choking, when he realizes that it is a young woman; he drops his hands and the woman is unharmed.
► An armed soldier grabs a woman by the arm after a man reads aloud that the woman will be hanged; a man shouts and a young woman cries and collapses to the ground. We see three men being arrested separately: one is dragged off a train with his hands tied behind his back, another man is dragged from a bed and shoved and a third is grabbed and his hands are tied behind his back. We see several men being lead into a room, hands cuffed, feet shackled and with hoods over their heads.
► A man and a young woman shout and duck for cover as an unseen person throws a rock through a window, shattering it; the young woman rubs her elbow and tells the man she is unharmed after she falls on the ground for cover. A man leaps on the back of a horse as another man chases him, shouting; the man stumbles and does not catch the other man. A young man shoves his mother against a chest of drawers and she falls to the ground. A man shoves his way through a crowd, pushing men out of the way. A man walking down the street purposefully knocks into another man, shoving him with his shoulder.
► A man asks another man to think about his behavior after a man had been shot and another had been "butchered within an inch of his life." A man asks a woman if she understands that she has been charged with conspiracy to kill three men and if she is found guilty she will be hanged; the woman agrees. A man asks a priest why he is harboring a man accused of murder; the man responds that he is simply trying to prevent the man from being subjected to a lynch mob. A young woman asks a man if he had killed people while he was a soldier; he ignores her question. On multiple occasions, a woman tells a man that her son had conspired to kidnap the President, but was not responsible for the murder of the President or the attack on another man. On multiple occasions we hear men discuss how a woman had been accused of aiding the treason and assassination of the President, including saying that she had harbored men that were planning to kill the President and two other men. A woman tells a man that her son had plotted to kidnap the President and hold him for ransom until the safe return of captured Confederate soldiers. A man shouts at a crowded courtroom of people. A man shouts at another man as a courtroom of people watch. A woman shouts at a group of men in a crowded courtroom, and a man shouts at the woman and tells another man to "control" the woman. A woman shouts at a young man (her son). A man tells another man that a woman is refusing to eat and will soon be too sick to stand trial. A man tells several men that a man had two horses "shot out from under him" while he was in war. A woman tells a young man "men are buried underground" and to drop the idea to kidnap a man. A man tells another man that he and his fellow soldiers had "fought and died" during a war. A man tells another man to not forget about the over 600,000 people who had died during a war. A man tells another man that he wants a woman and three men "buried." A woman tells several people that she heard rumor that a woman spits in the face of soldiers. A woman tells several people that she heard a rumor that a woman wears a necklace made from the bones of a deceased soldier. On multiple occasions men discuss how three men and a woman will be hanged if they are convicted of the assassination of the President. A man tells another man that a woman had never been executed before in the country and the man responds that a woman had never aided in such a brutal murder. A man tells another man that he did not think his mother would have been hanged to death. A man tells a courtroom of people that a group of men should be hanged, but a woman's life should be saved, and simply spend her life in prison. A man tells another man that three men and a woman should be hanged to death. We see newspaper headlines saying that the President had been shot and died, as well as headlines looking for "murderers." A boy sings a rhyme about a woman and three men being hanged as he sells newspapers with the same headline. A newspaper article says that a train is carrying the deceased remains of a man around the country. A man tells another man about newspaper headlines concerning the spread of yellow fever, water supplies being poisoned and the possible uprising of people. A man jokingly says that a man would shoot himself in the foot if he had a pistol.
► We see men in prison cells, a hood covering their faces (mouth openings are cut out) and sitting on a floor covered with hay; a woman lays on a mattress on the floor of a prison cell, coughing and refusing food until she appears sick and weak.
► We hear a man spit before a large crowd; we do not see spittle. We hear a man flush a toilet behind closed doors.
LANGUAGE 4 - 2 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 12 mild obscenities, name-calling (Gentleman Johnnie, stubborn, old war horses, savage, liar), exclamation (cock and bull), 5 religious exclamations.
SUBSTANCE USE - Men and women drink wine at parties and with meals, men drink liquor on multiple occasions, two men suggest to a third man that he help them "finish a bottle," a man tells a room full of people that he had gotten drunk, a man suggests that another man is often drunk, a woman tells a man that her husband had "died a drunk," a man tells another man to keep a man away from liquor, a man jokes that he has had multiple bottles of wine to drink, whiskey is discussed on multiple occasions, and a man hands another man two bottles of whiskey. We see two men smoking cigarettes and a man smokes a cigar.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - John Wilkes Booth, Frederick Aiken, Mary Surratt, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, assassination attempts on Andrew Jackson and Secretary of State William H. Seward, The American Civil War, revenge, kidnapping plots, treason, military trial of citizens, accused entitled to a non-biased defense, constitutional rights, Richmond VA (Capital of the Confederacy), biblical proverbs, "sic semper tyrannis" (thus always to tyrants), The Century Club, contempt of court, injustice, writ of habeas corpus.
MESSAGE - Setting aside any personal agenda is necessary to give an accused a fair trial.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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