Absolute Power

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Ed Harris, Gene Hackman, Laura Linney
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Released: Sony Pictures Entertainment, 1997

Presidential scandals are certainly something the American public is familiar with nowadays, but Absolute Power manages to avoid the familiar just enough to resemble passable entertainment. Clint Eastwood stars as a master jewel thief who witnesses the murder of the President (Hackman)'s mistress, and subsequently becomes a wanted man by conspiring Secret Service agents and a by-the-book homicide dick (Harris). What follows is a two-hour example of how good actors can make the most of a mundane script and shallow characters -- Eastwood and Harris simply exude charisma and their scenes together are the movie's most enjoyable moments. If you can get past the implausible setup and the typically melodramatic Eastwood ending, it's a worthwhile film.