# Bulworth (1998)

### reviewed by
Michael Redman

Bulworth exciting but what does it mean?

    Bulworth
    A Film Review By Michael Redman
    Copyright 1998 By Michael Redman

    *** (out of ****)

Senator Bulworth (Warren Beatty) is a man facing his own demons. Coming from an idealistic liberal beginning, he's now in bed with lobbyists and has sold out everything he believed in. In the middle of a re-election campaign he's a man with a plan. "Buying" a huge life insurance policy in exchange for voting correctly, he then hires an unknown assassin to kill him.

With the new found freedom, Bulworth discovers life. He begins telling the truth as he sees it - a definite no-no for a politician. In the beginning his pronouncements are convoluted. He tells an all-black church that unless they stop eating chicken wings and backing OJ, they'll never be rid of people like him. At a Hollywood fund-raiser, he condemns movies as shoddy products and says that the only reason that he's there is because they are all rich Jews.

At a Black after-hours club, he begins to have some fun. Dancing with the luscious Halle Berry in one of the most erotic scenes ever involving two vertical people, he falls for her and decides that he wants to live. Now he has to figure out how to call off the contract.

There are some fascinating aspects of the film. The story follows traditional mythological aspects of a heroic journey. The lost man travels deep into the underworld to discover his soul and finds truth. Reborn a new person, he attempts to right wrongs. There is also the political angle. In this arena, the movie seems somewhat anachronistic. It's a film that could have been made years ago and although the circumstances are still the same, that portion seems dated.

The confusion comes when these two are mixed. Just when Bulworth's search for his new life is becoming interesting, the election throws that line off track. The assassination device also is troublesome. While it works to get the story into gear, after that it gets in the way. Bulworth's dodging his murderer is a waste of time in what is an otherwise enticing film.

Two weeks after mulling over the movie in the vast recesses of the back of my mind, there are still a few things that I can't get a grasp on. The most wondrous character in the film is an elderly homeless man who runs into Bulworth at opportune times to say...something. He ties into the mythological journey but how? Who is he and what is his purpose in the film? Either I'm too dim to understand or he (and a few other scenes) is tossed in the mix just for weirdness. I would prefer to think it's the latter.

Bulworth is a well-constructed ride and thought-provoking. The answers aren't readily apparent and maybe that's a good thing.

(Michael Redman has written this column for over 23 years and realizes that the Summer Solstice is just around the corner. Time flies when it rains every day. Redman@bvoice.com is an eaddress for random notes.)

[This appeared in the 6/18/98 "Bloomington Voice", Bloomington, Indiana. Michael Redman can be contacted at redman@bvoice.com] -- mailto:redman@bvoice.com This week's film review at http://www.bvoice.com/ Film reviews archive at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Michael%20Redman

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