`The Conspirator' Is Stately To a Fault


by Christy LemireAP Movie Critic

Robert Redford's latest film, The Conspirator, explores a time in American history that most of us probably never knew about, or at least forgot: the 1865 trial of Mary Surratt, a boarding house owner whose son was suspected of helping John Wilkes Booth assassinate Abraham Lincoln.

It should be tense and thrilling, full of rich, powerful performances; instead, it'll make you feel like you should be taking notes in preparation for a high-school exam. And like the last film Redford directed, the terrorism drama ``Lions for Lambs,'' it's painfully preachy and sanctimonious.

Nobody ever evolves here; ``The Conspirator'' doesn't offer characters so much as human representations of principles.

``The Conspirator,'' a Roadside Attractions release, is rated PG-13 for some violent content. Running time: 122 minutes. One and a half stars out of four.

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