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TIFF 2018: ‘The Front Runner’ Review: Dir. Jason Reitman (2018)

The Front Runner review: Political dramas don’t always translate that well internationally, but The Front Runner is a Jason Reitman film, the latest from a filmmaker who has managed to impress with his last few features, particularly his last offering Tully. His latest is a different affair, if you pardon the pun, and focusses upon the 1988 U.S. presidential campaign, and on one particular individual, the front-runner of the title, Gary Hart, here played by Hugh Jackman.

The Front Runner review

Image credit: Courtesy of TIFF

The Front Runner review [TIFF]

The feature is largely set over a period of three weeks, the campaign for presidential nominations in full swing. Our man who-would-be-president, Hart, is way ahead in the polls, an almost cert to be the Democratic nomination for the ’88 election, which would have ultimately put him up against Bush.

The Reagan-era drama actually kicks off four years earlier with Hart conceding defeat in the previous run, the dynamic opening featuring a very theatrical one-take effort, culminating with Jackman’s Hart revealing that, despite defeat, his long-term plan is already in motion, revealing to a colleague over a late night drink that now the American people in whole know who her is, standing him in good stead for the next effort.

We swiftly fast-forward to that next effort, but the key plotline for this film kicks in towards the end of the first reel, where the American press, particularly The Washington Post and The Miami Herald, get wind that the senator may be having extramarital affairs and, after an anonymous call comes in to the Florida newspaper, the plot starts to thicken.

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A public outcry follows with Jackman’s Hart refusing to add fuel to the fire – claiming that his personal life has nothing to do with his politics, but in a world that has just started to wake up and pay attention to the tabloid press.

It’s obviously a narrative which is very parallel to today’s world – sex and sleaze in the White House, surely not –  and Reitman’s feature is very aware of this. The film is reminiscent of a film like Steven Spielberg’s last movie The Post, very much moving focusing on the building of a story from the point of view of the press, and the decision to hold it for a period of time or push the button and print it. We also get a peek into Hart’s world, and the management of the event through his team, and the film manages to balance argument well from both sides of the story.

Jackman is on top form, shedding his superhero and musical persona for a more grounded performance, one where he is both reserved, selfless, and also full of character with oodles of panache. This is potentially one of his best performances in a film of this type for years, but let’s not forget the cast around him too. J.K. Simmons pops up in support in a very solid role as Hart’s battle-worn campaign manager, while Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air), also astounds as Hart’s scorned wife. Farmiga is massively under-used, but she does come into her own in the final reel as Hart’s journey to political superstardom finally starts to spiral.

The Front Runner is intriguing, fascinating and will raise many questions in your mind. One will certainly be answered as you walk away; in that, you’ve just witnessed some truly masterful filmmaking. The Front Runner is undoubtedly one of the best in show so far this awards season and could land a golden statue nomination (at the very least) for Mr. Jackman. Has he ever been better? As I write this, he’s an undoubtedly a clear front-runner for Oscar glory in 2019.

The Front Runner review by Paul Heath, September 2018.

The Front Runner was reviewed at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. Click here for all of our coverage.

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