Grid Effect

I know we said that we would bring part three of our NBC executive drama today, but of course we forgot HBO aired their original movie Recount about the debacle that was the 2000 presidential election in Florida. So we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.

In the fall of 2000 we were just starting our freshman year of college, and while we were aware of the ongoing struggle to officially determine the next president, we were preoccupied with everything that college entails other than academics. So when we say we found it insightful, if hastily thrown together and poorly executed, then you’ll understand why our opinion of it is still non-committal.

The movie revolves around essentially everyone that was integral to the process other than the two candidates. Bush and Gore are played by two mostly unseen actors with horrible approximations of their voices. We occasionally might see the side of their faces, but for the most part it’s similar to Steinbrenner on Seinfeld. We have no idea why the dialogue for those two was so generic and insipid. It makes them both look like dependent children compared to all the characters dominating the screen, that need to be hand held and guided through the process.

Presidential candidates non-portrayal aside, the acting is pretty solid. Between Spacey, Dern, Leary, Wilkinson, Balaban (who has a contractual obligation to appear in every HBO original movie, we presume) and Bruce McGill, that isn’t the problem we have with it. The shortcomings of Recount all have to do with pacing.

It probably would have worked better as a miniseries rather than an original movie. And probably would have benefited from a director not responsible for Meet The Parents, because it jumps around so frenetically and unabashedly that even settling in to actually appreciate the story they’re trying to tell requires more effort than should be necessary. Two hours isn’t a lot of allotted time to tell something so nuanced and historically, especially when a considerable chunk of time is devoted simply to character introductions. If we had to apply a tag line to a movie poster, it would be like a music video without the attractive women or music.

Our central character is Ron Klain, a recently demoted Al Gore political adviser, who begins the movie with a chip on his shoulder and is seemingly unconcerned with the outcome for his boss. It isn’t until after election day, when Michael Whouley (Leary) explains to Klain how the process of paper ballots and there inefficiency can potentially skew the outcome of an election. And motivates Klain to use this inadequacy in the US electoral process for his professional advantage.

This scene, that literally takes place in an alley behind an office building, is the highlight of the film. We are treated to a brilliant speech from Leary, whose showing his performance on Rescue Me isn’t a fluke; and a brilliant visual illustration of how paper ballots are tabulated, and the folly of the hanging chad, which is simply too stupid to fully process and take seriously. We also get a great exchange about the plural of chad (it’s chad).

This caused a national crisis.

Recount reminded us of The Wire in a lot of ways, because much of the delay in the recount process came from human error and indifference. Everyone’s just trying to get through the day to get home for dinner. The passionate few struggle to be heard while the collective carefree majority ignore their pleas. In hindsight, what was amazing is not that the recount extended for so long, but that the voices of those calling for it actually had enough influence to make it impossible for everyone to just ignore the problem. That isn’t to say ego wasn’t driving any of this. At one point, Klain even says, “I’m not even sure I like Al Gore”. With politics, as with it seems everything, nothing gets done until it effects someone who matters personally.

The political tone of the film it is definitely more sympathetic to the left. And even if all the people involved weren’t Hollywood democrats, the movie would kind of have to be in order to be taken seriously. I mean, Gore lost. They couldn’t make a movie confirming what we’ve been living with for the past eight years. There wouldn’t be any conflict and thus, no point to the movie. But when the democrats complained of an unfair negative portrayal, they weren’t necessarily being overly sensitive. In other words, Recount isn’t as biased as one might assume it to be.

Basically, I’m going to recommend the film for anyone under the age of twenty-six who was as apolitical as your average teenager in 2000, or for anyone who wasn’t following the conflict in 2000. Of course, those are probably the same people that will avoid this like the plague. But if you were politically conscious at the time and are fully aware of what a hanging chad and a dimpled voting ballot are, this probably isn’t worth your time. If you’re a democrat it’s simply going to conjure up bad memories, and if you’re a republican, it will do nothing more than put you on the defensive.

So, in short if you’re under the age of twenty-six, only recently became concerned politically or are an independent, then by all means, catch one of the 50,000 replays on HBO over the course of the next week. Otherwise, stick to FOX News or NPR or whatever echoes your worldview. Because if you’re looking at this for some sort of ideological validation, then you’re probably looking in the wrong place.