Bulworth

Shown: 27 November 2000
Sponsored and introduced by Paula Thelwell

USA 1998
107 minutes
Directed by Warren Beatty
Leading players - Warren Beatty, Halle Berry and Oliver Platt

Synopsis

A disillusioned, jaded Democratic Senator Jay Bulworth (Warrer Beatty) decides on a drastic way to quit politics - he takes out a contract on his own life. However, whether fuelled by a rush of adrenaline at making the most of his last days or copious amounts of alcohol, he uses his public appearances on the re-election trail to tell the truth. Bulworth delivers a series of bluntly honest speeches to warn his constituents about the hypocrisy of the American political system and the power of big business. In doing so he rediscovers a taste for life, has a ball and even manages to fall in love.

Bulworth is directed and co-written by its star Warren Beatty, who had considered throwing his hat into the ring of this year's American presidential race. Taking a cynical, yet accurate, look at American politics Beatty is not afraid to show up the shallowness of his country's political campaign process. He also takes a swipe at the growing conservatism of the Democratic Party. Nor does he shrink from poking fun at himself and his reputation as a sex symbol. In a year when a sterile presidential campaign has bored us rigid this well acted razor-sharp political satire perceptively hits the spot.