Culture

Directed by: Robert Redford, (3/5).

The Conspirator is a fantastic historical legal drama. Based on the 1915 drama The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith, it tells the story of Mary Surratt, the only female co-conspirator charged with the Abraham Lincoln assassination and the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government.
 
The authorities arrest all of the assassinators, except for John Surratt, the son of Mary Surratt. The assassinators used Mary Surratt’s boarding house to conduct meetings in which they hatched the plan to assassinate Lincoln. John Surratt disappeared and went into hiding following the assassination. The authorities, desperate to see someone hang for his crimes, arrest his mother. Frederick Aiken, a Union war-hero and young lawyer, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. He is at first very reluctant to take the case and believes his client is guilty. However, he uncovers evidence of her innocence and conducts a spirited defense.
 
Aiken realises his client is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John. As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life. As Aiken works harder to defend his client, he becomes more and more ostracized from the high society he once mixed with.
 
The film shows the hypocrisy of the northern winners of the American Civil War, and the political motivations of the military court that tries Surratt. Viewers will find this film interesting for its insights into politics even if they are not United States history enthusiasts. The film is a steadily-paced “whodunnit” that reveals the motives and convictions of the players rather than the actual “whodidder”. It comes at an interesting time, showing the breaking of ethical codes in the name of wartime "justice." This film is a moving portrayal of a real life event, and it gives a different perspective on the American Civil War.