Bulworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bullworth redirects here. For the fictional town and school see Bully (game)
Bulworth is an American film released in 1998, which was written, directed by, and starred Warren Beatty and co-starred Halle Berry. The film follows the title character, California Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (Beatty), as he runs for re-election.
| Bulworth | |
|---|---|
 Promotional movie poster for Bulworth |
|
| Directed by | Warren Beatty |
| Produced by | Warren Beatty Pieter Jan Brugge |
| Written by | Warren Beatty Jeremy Pikser |
| Starring | Warren Beatty Halle Berry Oliver Platt Don Cheadle Paul Sorvino Jack Warden Isaiah Washington Christine Baranski Amiri Baraka |
| Music by | Ennio Morricone Ol' Dirty Bastard Transcenders |
| Cinematography | Vittorio Storaro |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release date(s) | May 15, 1998 |
| Running time | 108 min. |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
A veteran Senate Democrat, Bulworth is losing his bid for re-election to a fiery young opponent. Bulworth's liberal socialist views, formed in the 60s and 70s, have lost favor with voters, and so he has conceded to moderate politics and to accepting donations from special interests. In addition, though he and his wife (Christine Baranski) have been having affairs openly for years, they must still present a happy facade in the interest of maintaining a good public image.
In another self-serving campaign effort, Bulworth purchases a $10 million life insurance policy in exchange for a favorable vote for his insurance company. Tired with the state of affairs and politics in general, he then orders a hit on himself to be executed within two days' time. Here, Bulworth takes a major turn, politically and personally. Knowing his time left on earth is short, he begins speaking his mind freely at public events and in the presence of the C-SPAN film crew following his campaign. His frank, potentially offensive remarks make him an instant media darling and re-energize his campaign. After becoming involved with an African American activist Nina (Halle Berry), Bulworth tries to set his sordid political track-record straight while he is pursued by the paparazzi, his insurance company, his campaign managers, Nina's protective drug-dealing brother, and an increasingly adoring public, all before his impending assassination.
[edit] Political and social commentary
This film presents a great deal of controversial political and social commentary—often, but not always, through Bulworth's open, honest, and unusual campaign speeches. These speeches are often especially (and comically) controversial due to the demographic of Bulworth's audience. Memorable scenes include his comments to the African American church near the beginning; his comments to the supposedly Jewish movie producers (which may also be a tongue-in-cheek comment on behalf of the writers); Bulworth's comments about corporations controlling the American political system, and the ongoing comments depicting Democrats and Republicans as being just as bad as the other. Nina also makes some insightful comments as to why there are no black leaders anymore, as does L.D. in justifying using children in his drug-dealing business.
 |
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
