bulworth ( m ) . ( twentieth century fox ) director : warren beatty stars : warren beatty , halle berry , oliver platt , don cheadle , joshua malina , jack warden , paul sorvino , christine baranski , richard sarafian , isaiah washington , sean astin , laurie metcalf , amiri baraka , wendell pierce , michele morgan , ariyan johnson , larry king , george hamilton ( uncredited cameo ) running time : 108 minutes . bulworth is a daring film from warren beatty , a film maker whose politics have always been left of centre and whose long career has been driven by his very personal choice of projects . in this cynical and scathing political satire beatty tackles many of the more obvious problems of the american democratic process , and the social and economic divisions caused by race and class . beatty , who is credited as writer , producer and director , takes aim at a number of targets and hits a few raw nerves along the way . beatty could also be accused of biting the hand that feeds him , as he attacks the major motion picture studios , the corporations that buy political favours , and the whole political process itself . in the week before the senate elections , democrat jay bulington bulworth ( beatty ) has become disillusioned by the hypocrisy , the lies and the machinations of american politics and wants out . he takes out a $10 million life insurance policy and then hires a hit man to assassinate him . freed of any sense of obligation , bulworth then feels able to speak his mind during the campaign . rather than deliver the same tired old speeches , he begins to tell the truth , informing the voters of how little they actually mean to the politicians . suddenly , bulworth becomes popular and reinvents himself as that rarity - an honest , straight talking politician . in the wave of euphoria following his sensational admissions , bulworth has second thoughts about his earlier decision , but finds himself unable to call off the hit . bulworth also finds romance with the fiery , beautiful and intelligent nina ( halle berry , from executive decision , etc ) , who hails from la's black ghettos and the opposite end of the political spectrum . however , her ideas and opinions open his eyes to a lot that is wrong with his country and the government . another unexpected source of inspiration is found in l d ( don cheadle , from devil in a blue dress , etc ) , a drug lord . bulworth follows on from those other sharp political satires from last year , the timely wag the dog and primary colors . however , bulworth is nowhere near as clever , biting or as credible as those two films , and at times is something of an undisciplined mess . as co-writers , beatty and long time collaborator jeremy pikser ( reds , etc ) seem to have bitten off more than they can chew in this ambitious script . there are a couple of good ideas here , but they seem to get lost in some unnecessary over plotting . the film ultimately lacks a strong central focus . and those scenes where bulworth , an angry old man , proceeds to rail against corruption and apathy through rap songs don't quite convince . for once , beatty is playing closer to his age , a haggard , weary and tired 60 something , and he seems to be enjoying the experience . oliver platt gives a wonderfully manic performance as murphy , bulworth's increasingly frustrated aide who attempts damage control as he tries to keep his charge on the straight and narrow . a number of celebrity cameos , from the ubiquitous larry king through to george hamilton , add to the flavour of the film . despite its structural flaws though , bulworth looks great , thanks to vittorio storaro's superb cinematography and dean tavoularis' production design . 
