cinéSARNIA presents The Conspirator December 4 & 5, 2011 Country : USA, 2010 English 122 minutes. Colour/35mm Production Company : The American Film Company Executive Producer : Joe Ricketts, Jeremiah Samuels, Webster Stone Producer: Robert Redford, Greg Shapiro, Bill Holderman, Brian Falk, Robert Stone Screenplay: James Solomon Cinematographer : Newton Thomas Sigel Editor: Craig McKay Production Designer : Kalina Ivanov Sound : Jonathan Gaynor Music : Mark Isham Cas t: James McAvoy, Robin Wright, Kevin Kline, Evan Rachel Wood, Danny Huston, Justin Long, Tom Wilkinson Production: The American Film Company, THE CONSPIRATOR Cinema icon Robert Redford returns to his independent filmmaking roots with The Conspirator, the suspenseful, true story of the lone woman charged in the assassination of US president Abraham Lincoln, and the twenty-eight-year-old Union war hero who must defend her. With America's most famous assassination as a backdrop, Redford tells a poignant story about loyalty and honour. Having just returned victorious to Washington D.C. from the closing battles of the Civil War, idealistic lawyer Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) is eager to make his name in politics. A bright-eyed nationalist, he is thrilled when he gets an audience with Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline), at a high society party. However, the meeting is cut short when a shot fired in Ford's Theatre from the gun of John Wilkes Booth changes everything. With the nation mobilized to hunt down those responsible for the assassination, the authorities arrest Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), mother of John Surratt, suspected of collaborating with Booth. A Confederate sympathizer and devoted mother, Mary refuses to reveal the location of her son. Whipped-up into an emotional fury, the public calls for her blood. On the insistence of his mentor, former attorney general Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), Aiken reluctantly takes up Surratt's case and defends her. Defying a nation eager for retribution, the young lawyer must take on the most difficult case of his life. Redford never dwells on recent parallels, but the story certainly resonates with events of the past decade. Wisely, The Conspirator leaves conclusions to each viewer. The stellar cast is rounded out by Alexis Bledel as Aiken's love interest, Justin Long as his brother-in-arms, and Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Surratt's grief-stricken daughter. Redford's masterful directing reveals an intimate story of a mother's love, a soldier's honour and a nation's hunger for revenge. Robert Redford was born in Santa Monica, California and attended the University of Colorado on a base- ball scholarship. A prolific actor, director and philanthropist. he was launched into stardom in 1963 when he starred in Barefaot in the Park. Some of his most famous performances appear in the films Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (69). The Candidate (72), The Way We Were (73), The Sting (73), which won seven Academy Awards®, Three Days of the Condor (75), All the President's Men (76), The Natural (84), Out of Africa (85) and Indecent Proposal (93). He is also founder of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival. He made his directorial debut with Ordinary People (80). which won four Academy Awards, including best picture and best director. His other films as director include The Milagro Beanfield War (88), A River Runs Through It (92). Quiz Show (94), The Horse Whisperer (96), The Legend of Bagger Vance (00) and The Conspirator (10). .