Thanks for the memories!

Such a frustrating disappointment

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Like many people in their retirement years, Robert Redford's biggest pastime is writing letters to the editor. Unfortunately, his letters are two hour films. The Conspirator could have been a lot more than Redford ranting about injustice, but, unfortunately, it isn't. The story is told in a very heavy-handed sort of way, with no subtleties or grey areas. You never feel that this is an objective account of the trial of Mary Surratt. In addition, much of the movie is padding, making it fairly dull. Also, if you know your Civil War history, as I do, you know how the movie is going to end, meaning that there is no intrigue, and a sense of inevitability about it all.Decent performances though, especially from James McAvoy.

I rented this movie because I enjoy period films about U.S. history, and what better event to be covered than the Lincoln Assassination?! Unfortunately, this courtroom drama fails in a number of aspects, with acting being first and foremost on that list.For a basic plot summary, "The Conspirator" tells the story of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), accused of harboring the men who conspired to kill President Lincoln. With all the odds stacked against her, Surratt is given a military trial that she has no hope of winning. The only thing in her corner is lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), who is persuaded to fight for her cause.As a courtroom drama, this film is okay. It touches on a few interesting themes and really shows the mood of the Civil War era. However, the acting is so poor that it never really sucks viewers into the proceedings. Besides Wright as Surratt, the acting performances fail in a variety of ways. McAvoy does not convey "period" whatsoever, the auxiliary cast isn't given much to do, and the laughable casting choices of Justin Long and Alexis Bledel only serves to further exemplify the acting in this effort.Also, "The Conspirator" does none of the "little things" right, like character depth. A romance angle with McAvoy's character goes nowhere, for instance, while the drama of the film is confined to the courtroom scenes and no others.Thus, I cannot recommend "The Conspirator" to those looking for anything more than a mediocre, stuffy period piece about a very specific topic. If you only want to see it because it has Lincoln on the cover, go elsewhere for your history fix.

To duly appreciate this movie maybe you must forget that the Southern cause during the Civil War in USA was a bad one because furthermore to the rest, it defended slavery and racism which means you must avoid any sympathy for it. Putting this aside we must admit this is a very good film which tells the real story of the trial of a southern woman charged with conspiracy to murder President Lincoln and who always declared herself innocent. The trial, conducted by army officers was an apishness of justice with total violation of the defendant's rights, subtracting her to a trial at a civil court to begin with and that she was entitled to. The offense of her right to defend herself is constant and it includes manoeuvres to favour the accusation some of them carried out by the prosecution itself. The movie respects faithfully the historical truth of this real case and all the performances by actors and actresses are superb, by "goodies" and "badies" as well with particular notability to James McAvoy as Frederick Aiken, the defence lawyer and Robin Wright as Mary Surratt the defendant. All the scenes are very realistic in terms of interior and exterior sceneries, characters' dressing and personal behaviour all according to the movie's epoch. A movie worth to be seen indeed.

Overall this movie was a fairly accurate, interesting film. The inaccuracies that were present however did not make much difference; such as the room the trial was held in during the movie was on he first floor while in reality it was on the third, etc. The actors were very convincing as well, they took on the passion of the individuals they were portraying and made it believable as well as suspenseful. The movie is informative in details of the Civil War as well as Lincoln's assassination and it's aftermath. I feel as though I've learned more about these topics. I was very entertained throughout the movie as it was rather fast-paced and there was a lot of action. This movie and it's plot had the potential of being filled largely with dull dialogue, however the action made me feel as though I was actually there. I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination.