POLITICS IS WAR.
Shortly after swearing the oath in November 1963, President Lyndon B. Johnson (Bryan Cranston) begins the struggle to get the Civil Rights Act passed, trying to please both Dixiecrats and African-American voters. Recount and Game Change director Jay Roach was the right person to bring the successful play to television. In spite of a long running time, the filmmakers maintain a fairly high level of intensity, with focus firmly on Cranston’s mesmerizing performance as LBJ. Watching him threaten, cajole and manipulate everybody around him in order to get what he wants is great entertainment. Frank Langella is also terrific as ”Uncle Dick”, Johnson’s old mentor.
2016-U.S. Made for TV. 132 min. Color. Produced by Scott Ferguson. Directed by Jay Roach. Teleplay, Play: Robert Schenkkan. Cast: Bryan Cranston (Lyndon B. Johnson), Anthony Mackie (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Melissa Leo (Lady Bird Johnson), Frank Langella, Bradley Whitford, Stephen Root… Ray Wise.
Trivia: Co-executive produced by Cranston and Steven Spielberg.
Last word: “Fortunately, my own natural physical makeup is what every man searches for – beady eyes and thin lips. And that’s what I share with LBJ. It was about two hours and fifteen minutes every day to get into the makeup. Bill Corso, who designed and created the makeup, is a genius and a lovely man to work with. Also, we had lifts in my shoes and little pieces to pull my ears out a little bit.” (Cranston, Buzzy Mag)
ABOVE AVERAGE