Directed by: Rob Reiner
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jeffrey Donovan, Bill Pullman, Richard Jenkins, Michael Stahl-David, C. Thomas Howell
With HBO movie "All The Way" starring Bryan Cranston in his Emmy-nominated role still fresh in people's minds, LBJ may seem redundant, but it is a more spry, livelier look at the former President. All The Way featured a spot-on performance by Cranston, but it tried to cover too much ground and bogged itself down. LBJ sets its sights on Johnson's pre-Kennedy political career and how Kennedy's assassination thrust a politically dead Johnson suddenly into the Presidency. The film is buoyed by an energetic Woody Harrelson performance. He wouldn't be the first actor you think of to play Lyndon B. Johnson, but he was a correct one.
Harrelson infuses Johnson with a never-say-die attitude. He knows the angles and how to play them. He may have been Texas born and bred, but he was able to talk plainly to the Kennedys while working compromises in order to help Kennedy pass his Civil Rights Act, which LBJ ran to the finish line when it was signed into law in 1964. LBJ and the Kennedys were opposites, which the movie repeatedly underlines, but we see Johnson still fighting for political relevance and a slim possibility of running for President in 1968. His belief was Kennedy was set to be an eight-year President, but that belief was shattered on November 22, 1963.
Johnson was faced with an unprecedented outpouring of grief over Kennedy's death, while trying to move the business of government forward. Johnson was, as LBJ documents, a master of walking the tightrope over political disaster. He opposed Kennedy in the 1960 primaries, but Kennedy's media darling status made him a virtually impossible candidate to beat. To everyone including Johnson's surprise, Kennedy asked him to be his running mate as a way to solidify the Southern vote.
When in the White House, Johnson is made chairman of committee on racial inequality which no member of the cabinet takes seriously and by the fall of 1963 is in no man's land politically. Johnson feels, not unreasonably, he was pushed aside by machinations set in motion by Robert Kennedy (Stahl-David). Through it all at Johnson's side is Lady Bird (Leigh), who is there to comfort him in his rare moments of vulnerability. It seems almost a waste to have a fine actress like Leigh relegated mostly to the sidelines save for a couple of key scenes. Her intimate moments with Lyndon are among the best in the film, but there aren't enough of them.
LBJ sinks or swims on Harrelson and he is up to the task. The movie shows us how Johnson rose from the Washington political scrap heap to carry on Kennedy's legacy through toughness, resourcefulness, and not being afraid to get his hands dirty. We see him wheel and deal with his lifelong friend Senator Richard Russell (Jenkins), a hardline Southern Democrat, which means he was also a staunch segregationist. It is interesting to bear witness to how Johnson, in his plainly spoken way, understood why the Civil Rights Act was necessary and, after nearly 100 slaves since the slaves were freed, its time had come. We also learn in the epilogue how Johnson got Medicaid and Medicare off the ground. Not bad for a guy who had resigned himself to being an eight-year vice president.
When in the White House, Johnson is made chairman of committee on racial inequality which no member of the cabinet takes seriously and by the fall of 1963 is in no man's land politically. Johnson feels, not unreasonably, he was pushed aside by machinations set in motion by Robert Kennedy (Stahl-David). Through it all at Johnson's side is Lady Bird (Leigh), who is there to comfort him in his rare moments of vulnerability. It seems almost a waste to have a fine actress like Leigh relegated mostly to the sidelines save for a couple of key scenes. Her intimate moments with Lyndon are among the best in the film, but there aren't enough of them.
LBJ sinks or swims on Harrelson and he is up to the task. The movie shows us how Johnson rose from the Washington political scrap heap to carry on Kennedy's legacy through toughness, resourcefulness, and not being afraid to get his hands dirty. We see him wheel and deal with his lifelong friend Senator Richard Russell (Jenkins), a hardline Southern Democrat, which means he was also a staunch segregationist. It is interesting to bear witness to how Johnson, in his plainly spoken way, understood why the Civil Rights Act was necessary and, after nearly 100 slaves since the slaves were freed, its time had come. We also learn in the epilogue how Johnson got Medicaid and Medicare off the ground. Not bad for a guy who had resigned himself to being an eight-year vice president.
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