Nominated for 2 Oscars at this year's Academy Awards, The Contender is an old-fashioned morality tale in which justice wins out against political corruption, the kind of film popular in the American cinema of the 1970's and now quite unfashionable, Erin Brokokovitch (2000) aside.
The eponymous 'contender' is Democrat senator Laine Hanson (Joan Allen), chosen by the President of the United States to be his next vice-president and (not so) incidentally the first woman in the role. Not surprisingly her bid for the office doesn't go smoothly, and Laine soon finds herself the subject of a sleaze campaign, led by Republican dirt digger Shelly Runyon (Gary Oldman), aimed at bringing about her political downfall and, of course, discrediting the 'liberal' Democrat party she represents.
The allusions to Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky scandal are glaringly obvious, yet the film is much more than a comment on the evils of political muckraking and a culture of televised confessions (although it is that as well). Without overt preaching, The Contender is a good (old-fashioned) feminist film in which a woman is forced to battle for her personal integrity and defeats the (male) system from within. Probed about her private life and in particular some incriminating student photos of a frat house orgy, on live television and in a law court, Hanson consistently refuses to answer questioning that she sees as an affront to her privacy. This right to live free from personal scrutiny addresses issues surrounding the Clinton scandal, but The Contender underlines the fact that women are much more vulnerable to sexual inquisition than their male counterparts (a quick glance at the National Enquirer, or Now could tell you this just as easily).
Hanson is obviously the character we are rooting for, and whose decorum is constantly contrasted to the misdirected ambition of many of the male characters - a theme constantly alluded to in the literal greed and appetite of the President (beautifully played by a well cast Jeff Bridges), constantly calling his White House kitchen for elaborate sandwiches. Yet the film never descends into woman/Democrat = good vs. man/Republican = bad stereotypes. Runyon' s compulsion to discredit Hanson has nothing to do with sexism, and everything to do with the strength of his belief in the party that he represents. He believes just as strongly in a cause as she does and will go to any lengths to protect his own personal vision and politics.
The key scene takes place in the conservatory of Runyon's home. Surrounded by luscious greenery and wearing cosy pyjamas, Runyon is confronted by his wife over the smear campaign. Removed from the courtroom and his impressive office he suddenly becomes human, the audience now seeing the character for what he is - a once 'good' man who has fallen. Whether accidental or contrived, naming the character Runyon brings to mind the Broadway stories of Damon Runyon who depicted the sharp world of New York hoods, scams and rackets with a kind and affectionate tone. Likewise we can never really judge Runyon and for much of its running time the film refuses to be reduced to a simplistic battle of good and evil.
And yet 'good' does triumph in the end, which is The Contender's only weakness. The finale at which (you've guessed it) the President decries the campaign of sleaze (as un-American!) and announces his new VP is too strident and emphatic to be consistent with what has, until then, been quite a subtle film. It's basically another 'I Love America' ending, complete with stirring music and a final shot of the victorious contender in a pose more than a little reminiscent of the final shot of Rocky, another emblematic film of the 1970s, albeit one with little in common with The Contender's liberal ancestors.
Reviewed by Caroline Millar
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