The Front Runner

Name: The Front Runner
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Released: November 6, 2018
Duration: 113 min
Rating: 61
Cast: Alex Karpovsky, Alfred Molina, Ari Graynor, Bill Burr, Chris Coy

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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6.2

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6.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 37 Ratings

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The Front Runner: A Look Inside (Featurette)

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Movie Details & Credits

Columbia Pictures Corporation | Release Date: November 6, 2018 | R

Starring: Alex Karpovsky, Alfred Molina, Ari Graynor, Bill Burr, Chris Coy, Courtney Ford, Hugh Jackman, J.K. Simmons, Jenna Kanell, Jennifer Landon, Josh Brener, Kaitlyn Dever, Kevin Pollak, Mark O'Brien, Molly Ephraim, Sara Paxton, Toby Huss, Tommy Dewey, Vera Farmiga

Summary: The Front Runner follows the rise and fall of Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman), who captured the imagination of young voters and was considered the overwhelming front runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was sidelined by the story of an extramarital relationship with Donna Rice. As tabloid journalism andThe Front Runner follows the rise and fall of Senator Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman), who captured the imagination of young voters and was considered the overwhelming front runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination when his campaign was sidelined by the story of an extramarital relationship with Donna Rice. As tabloid journalism and political journalism merged for the first time, Senator Hart was forced to drop out of the race - events that left a profound and lasting impact on American politics and the world stage. … Expand

Director: Jason Reitman

Genre(s): Biography, Drama, History, Thriller

Rating: R

Runtime: 113 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Rex Reed

Nov 9, 2018

Brilliantly directed by Jason Reitman, from an intelligent, carefully researched and fast moving screenplay by Reitman, Jay Carson and Matt Bai (based on Bai’s marvelous book All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid), this enthralling film is a mirror to the shifting relationship between the media and politics, and the events that changed the last 30 years in American history. Read full review

The Playlist Gregory Ellwood

Sep 1, 2018

Yes, Jackman’s impressive portrayal of Hart is at the center of “The Front Runner” (it’s one of the best performances of his career), but Reitman uses a large cast of characters to give depth to the events in question. Read full review

Kenneth Turan

Nov 6, 2018

Despite the potential for rancorous finger-pointing, one of the remarkable things about “The Front Runner” is its determination to be even-handed, to encourage viewers to make up their own minds (at least up to a point) about what happened 30 years ago and what it means for today. Read full review

Peter Travers

Nov 5, 2018

Not even Jackman, one of the most persuasive actors around, can sell the argument that personal weakness doesn’t stain public character in the era of #MeToo. Read full review

The Telegraph Robbie Collin

Jan 10, 2019

As cautionary tales go, The Front Runner is of an unusually cautious bent. It presents the evidence, then sits back and folds its arms. Read full review

David Sims

Nov 9, 2018

So much of The Front Runner feels like stenography, giving audiences the basics and then letting Hart or Bradlee monologue to the camera about how the norms of yesteryear are slipping away, perhaps forever. Read full review

Derek Smith

Nov 7, 2018

The film quickly reveals that the only angle it’s interested in is the one that most sympathizes with Gary Hart. Read full review

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User Reviews

Thomass

Nov 24, 2018

Hugh Jackman is excellent. Movie combines the feeling of campaign confusion and current themes of feminist issues. Also presents a comment on the press and general changes in our culture.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bataguila

May 20, 2019

Interesante, aprendes, no es aburrida, y sientes carisma por los personajes.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GinaK

Nov 21, 2018

The biggest holes in this film are that it does not explain enough about the time in which Gary Hart ran for president nor does it tell us how many affairs he had (if any) before the one that ended his presidential run. That said, Jason Reitman again delivers a beautifully crafted andThe biggest holes in this film are that it does not explain enough about the time in which Gary Hart ran for president nor does it tell us how many affairs he had (if any) before the one that ended his presidential run. That said, Jason Reitman again delivers a beautifully crafted and thought-provoking film made real through wonderful performances (here by Hugh Jackman and Vera Farmiga among many others -- I don’t remember a weak actor in the cast). Maybe after our current president, the insistence on perfection (in marital fidelity at least) won’t be an issue, but it used to be huge in the USA (unlike in Europe where ministers have mistresses and nobody seems to care). This film may not make a huge amount of money at the box office, but I hope it becomes a classroom staple at universities since it is both an engrossing film and a great way to start a debate on political and other types of morality, including journalistic ethics.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

TVJerry

Nov 28, 2018

This film harkens back to 1988, when an extramarital affair could ruin a politician. Hugh Jackman plays Senator Gary Hart, who was destined to become our next President, until his dalliance was exposed. The narrative touches on his personal life, but much more time is spent examining theThis film harkens back to 1988, when an extramarital affair could ruin a politician. Hugh Jackman plays Senator Gary Hart, who was destined to become our next President, until his dalliance was exposed. The narrative touches on his personal life, but much more time is spent examining the conflicts between media and politics. Jackman does just fine, but it feels like a political drama that desperately needs the clever wordplay of Aaron Sorkin or a more incisive examination than director Jason Reitman can conjure. As it stands, it makes an interesting history lesson (although "Chappaquiddick" did it better last year).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

Feb 18, 2019

Frankly Jason Reitman hasn't done a great film for a long time but I think this film is perhaps his most worthy effort in a while and it might sound weird that I'm saying that because Tully wasn't a disappointment for me but in the end I wasn't really that happy with the results of that filmFrankly Jason Reitman hasn't done a great film for a long time but I think this film is perhaps his most worthy effort in a while and it might sound weird that I'm saying that because Tully wasn't a disappointment for me but in the end I wasn't really that happy with the results of that film and I must say - considering the results of this one - that those who are saving him are his actors. Because both in Tully and in this one. The main characters are the true engines of the stories.

The Front Runner offers a great interpretation by Hugh Jackman and sincerely I must say that he's the best reason to give an opportunity to this film.
I don't doubt that there are fans of the director or those who follow his work very closely but the truth is that I enjoyed this film more because of Jackman's work than for what his director managed to build.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Brent_Marchant

Nov 30, 2018

An ambitious, well-intentioned effort about Gary Hart's failed 1988 presidential campaign that seeks to make several statements about larger issues -- the right to privacy, the tabloidization of the American media, the lack of reasonable and meaningful perspective in political analysis -- inAn ambitious, well-intentioned effort about Gary Hart's failed 1988 presidential campaign that seeks to make several statements about larger issues -- the right to privacy, the tabloidization of the American media, the lack of reasonable and meaningful perspective in political analysis -- in addition to chronicling the Senator's self-sabotaged political run, one that many at the time pegged him as a shoo-in for chief executive. Unfortunately, in telling its story, the movie tends to become unfocused, not sure where to place its emphasis, resulting in a scattered effort that doesn't do its various narrative components justice. In spite of these issues, the picture does feature fine performances by Hugh Jackman as the conflicted politician and Vera Farmiga as his emotionally devastated wife. However, it's too bad this release doesn't live up to its hype -- or its potential -- given that, if handled more skillfully, it could have served as noteworthy social commentary that's just as relevant today as it was about the period in question.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

amheretojudge

Jan 31, 2019

Hiding Under A Sophisticated Lie.

The Front Runner Reitman's fatal attempts on convincing us to believe the significance of a script can only make you more depressed. This political drama is neither political nor drama, there is very little for it be diplomatic and yet it is diplomatic toHiding Under A Sophisticated Lie.

The Front Runner

Reitman's fatal attempts on convincing us to believe the significance of a script can only make you more depressed. This political drama is neither political nor drama, there is very little for it be diplomatic and yet it is diplomatic to the core and frankly that is not how you are supposed to answer the questions raised by yourself; at least not on such larger scale. For what it's worth, the film is executed sharply, with swooping in as much as perspective there can be, but this almost two hour long episode-like film overstays its welcome.

There is barely an idea for it to walk around, and neither does it have any style to reason its way out, it is all textbook procedure boasting in front of a large crowd with none whatsoever flow or rhythm in its vocab. What's worse among all is the scrutiny that is hyped and overridden for the entire film and is yet just skimmed off on terms of its so called exploration. There is no hard figure or fact to prove their ideologies, it feels like a juvenile attempt to win over your heart with pity and few tears- it doesn't even have that. Running short on ideas, Reitman has dipped this film entirely into cliched outdated montages that bores you to death.

It leaps over these from time to time, distracting us from who knows what; a heated debate around a big round table, a controversial scandal, a press conference gone wrong, a stakeout van, a claimed guilty persona being cornered by flashy cameras and press reporters just yelling. You would know when there is no connection between you and a character, when the stakes aren't communicated thoroughly, the most dramatic antic that puts Jackman at his most vulnerable position feels dry and physically distant, the threat never conjures you to nod convincingly when Jackman fumbles or stutters.

Speaking of whom, the only survivor of this sinking ship is Jackman, he comes out good, real good. His performance is the reason why you might want to finish this venture no matter how long. All the public appearance of his whether it be his speech or his temper bursting out behind the alley, is performed majestically and is written with compelling arguments- which is not something to be surprised or excited for since this is what the genre demands.

The supporting cast feels like misused from Simmons to Farmiga, there is basically anything for them to do or invest. The structure of the film is arguably fresh and not definitively productive, since it is always absorbing when a film relies upon one and only one act, but that is only the case when there is an act to follow. This seems like a huge swing and a miss, what should have been a side track, is helmed at the center and the rest of it is scoffed off, maybe there was a lot to pursue, maybe there wasn't, either way, The Front Runner is certainly not going to be elected.… Expand

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