All the King’s MenStarring: Sean Penn, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Kate WinsletDirected by: Steven ZaillianStars: 3 out of 5

When not playing a stoner, Sean Penn seems to have one mood: enraged.

This lends itself perfectly to his latest role as the fictitious Louisiana governor Willie Stark in the remake of the 1949 Oscar winner, ‘All the King’s Men.’ Despite Penn’s flight of fury, the film is carried away by its impressive cast of supporting characters and its nearly as impressive, if overly-long, journey from sainthood to scum.

‘All the King’s Men’ follows Stark as he gains the trust of the common man and sets out to do good, only to fall short of his own expectations. Penn is exactly the man for the job. His rants are soulful, his face reddened, his hair flopping around like an angry rooster.

But even though Stark is the main character, one really has to look at the film’s title to understand the course it will take. Jude Law is more central to the film’s plot, as intrepid-journalist-turned-even-more-intrepid-Stark-lackey Jack Burden, who serves as somewhat of a conscience to both Stark and the film itself.

Stark’s character is fleshed out about as well as the Humpty Dumpty the film’s title references. His rise to power seems too sudden, his motives too blurred. You don’t really notice when he begins to take a turn for the worse-until it’s too late. This may have been writer/director Steven Zaillian’s intent, but it comes off as accidental.

Stark’s proverbial horses and men provide the meat of the story. Especially compelling is Patricia Clarkson as Stark’s … well, it’s never really made quite clear what she is, but mistress is certainly one role. Stark cheats on her and his wife with as little remorse as he swindles his way through politics-and learns the hard way that dishonesty doesn’t work for those who are honest by nature.

The film thunks through its first half-hour or so, never gaining a full head of steam until the final scenes. But this is where ‘All the King’s Men’ begins to realize its potential-it’s a shame Zaillian couldn’t have figured this out himself, before Humpty fell off the wall.

Published on September 21, 2006 at 12:00 pm