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Absolute Power
A master thief coincidentally is robbing a house where a murder—in which the President of the United States is involved—occurs in front of his eyes. He is forced to run, while holding evidence that could convict the President.
1997 · Directed by Clint Eastwood · 121 min · Crime · Drama · Action · Screenplay in the scene database · 7 frames
Tagline
Corrupts absolutely.
Plot
In Washington, D.C., master thief Luther Whitney breaks into the mansion of billionaire Walter Sullivan. He is forced to hide upon the arrival of Sullivan's wife Christy, on a drunken rendezvous with Alan Richmond, the President of the United States. Hidden behind the bedroom vault's one-way mirror, Luther watches as Richmond becomes sexually violent; Christy, in self-defense, wounds his arm with a letter opener. Richmond screams for help, and Secret Service agents Bill Burton and Tim Collin burst in, see Christy about to stab the President, and fatally shoot her. Chief of Staff Gloria Russell arrives, and they stage the scene to look like a burglary gone wrong. Luther is unnoticed until he makes his getaway, pursued by the agents, but he manages to escape with millions in valuables as well as the incriminating letter opener.
Detective Seth Frank heads the murder investigation. Though Luther, known to authorities as a high-profile burglar, becomes a prime suspect, Frank does not believe he is a murderer because he was never a violent criminal. Burton asks Frank to keep him informed on the case and wiretaps Frank's office telephone. Just as Luther is about to flee the country, he sees Richmond on television publicly commiserating with Sullivan – a close friend and financial supporter of the president – on his loss. Incensed, Luther decides to bring Richmond to justice.
Luther's estranged daughter, Kate, accompanies Frank to her father's home in search of clues. Photographs of her indicate that Luther has secretly been watching her as she grew up. Fearing for her father's life, she agrees to set him up, arranging a meeting at an outdoor café. Frank guarantees Luther's safety, but Burton learns of the plan through the wiretap, and both Collin and Michael McCarty – a hitman hired by a vengeful Sullivan – prepare to kill Luther. The two snipers, each unaware of the other, try to shoot Luther when he meets with Kate. Luther escapes disguised as a police officer. Luther later explains to Kate exactly how Christy was killed and by whom.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: William Goldman
- Cinematography: Jack N. Green
- Edited by: Joel Cox
- Music: Lennie Niehaus
- Production design: Henry Bumstead
- Produced by: Clint Eastwood, Karen S. Spiegel
Cast
- Clint Eastwood as Luther Whitney
- Gene Hackman as President Richmond
- Ed Harris as Seth Frank
- Laura Linney as Kate Whitney
- Judy Davis as Gloria Russell
- Scott Glenn as Bill Burton
- Dennis Haysbert as Tim Collin
- E.G. Marshall as Walter Sullivan
- Melora Hardin as Christy Sullivan
- Kenneth Welsh as Sandy Lord
Production
- Country: United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Castle Rock Entertainment, Malpaso Productions
- Budget: $50,000,000
- Box office: $50,100,000
- Themes: daughter, rape, assassination, usa president, washington dc, usa, government, corruption, the white house, based on novel or book, politics
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