All the Way

all seems be a splendid embroidery. the atmosphere, LBJ proposed by Bryan Cranston, Melissa Leo as lady Bird Johnson, Frank Langella in the generous role of senator Russell, Anthony Mackie in the skin, far to be comfortable, of dr. Martin Luther King. the events are known but that is the virtue of film - to recreate the roots of essential decisions, to show debates and errors, to give the map of a struggle who change America. a film who becomes documentary in many scenes. and one of the most inspired portraits of an U.S. president. a film who presents the way of an year. and a man across a storm. and that does All the way more than a good work. but an useful support for reflection. about politics and about courage. about contemporary elections and about isles from old manner to understand the things. and, sure, about the admirable performance of Bryan Cranston.

I can say without doubt that Cranston is as close to the real thing as I have seen. Close, but not complete. I grew up in Dallas during the assassination and remember Johnson very well from that time. This movie shows a lot more about the man then ever was shown during his presidency. Johnson was not known for his popularity and was not an icon like Kennedy. But I believe he did more for the nation than most Presidents before and after. One thing he was and that was a true Texan and touted that persona throughout his life. And as one Texan to another Johnson always showed his colors even though the rest of the nation did not understand it. I give him that. As for the only critique of Cranston I would say look at the real Johnson on past videos and then Cranston. Johnson was a little more quiet and subdued in front of cameras and the public eye. It was his back room political demeanor that made this man who he really was.

Bryan Cranston brings Lyndon Johnson to life in this absorbing real life drama focusing on 1964 when LBJ not only got a major civil rights bill passed, but set the stage for the 1965 voting rights act and the war on poverty. Cranston's portrayal is uncanny, and turns this made for HBO movie into a quasi-documentary. Cranston carries this movie and makes it one of the best television events of the year. The rest of the cast is excellent too but in some cases, the actors don't look enough like the characters they are playing: Hubert Humphery and Martin Luther King Jr., come to mind. The storyline is fairly well known to anyone who follows politics and U.S. history, but the behind the scene's maneuvering to get a very major bill passed makes for great story telling and LBJ was one of the great story tellers. The stories told by LBJ are the glue that holds this movie together. His poor upbringing gave him the resolve to do something about helping the poor once he got into office. And of course he saw first hand in his home state of Texas, the massive racism that prevented blacks from taking their rightful place in American society. No doubt LBJ could have been a candidate for Mt. Rushmore were it not for Vietnam which is explored in the movie but not in-depth. That should be a sequel. Melissa Leo is wonderful as Lady Bird Johnson, and Frank Langella is excellent as Senator Richard Russell. This is a must see movie. Cranston will be picking up more awards.

While Lyndon Johnson's presidency was marred by his disastrous Vietnam policy, he was one of our most significant and important presidents in terms of social justice, passing laws that fought racism and pushed against poverty.

In All the Way's eagerness to show the good of Johnson, it sometimes pushes a little too far. Johnson is portrayed here as a sort of crude angel. Sure, he holds meetings from the toilet, but he single-handedly pushes through a civil rights bill!

I don't know much about the history of the civil rights bill, but I do know that politics is a vast, messy business that involves a lot of people and that even the noblest of politicians are still consumed with deal making and positioning and power. For me, this makes the LBJ portrayed in the movie a too simplistic. I am more interested with flawed humans whose angels sometimes beat down their demons to earthly saints.

In spite of my objections, though, this is a very entertaining, involving movie. Its main selling point is Bryan Cranston's amazing portrayal of LBJ. Cranston's LBJ is shrewd, calculating, noble, and briefly angsty. Cranston creates as much complexity as is possible within a role written with a lack of nuance.

The other performances are also quite solid, particularly Melissa Leo as the sweet but steel-spined Ladybird and Frank Langella as LBJ's mentor and occasional foe. Anthony Mackie plays a thoughtful MLK, but there is a slightness, both physical and oratorical, that is disappointing.

While I would have liked more complexity, this is a very entertaining movie that is well worth watching.

There are a lot of complimentary things one could say about HBO's "All The Way": great acting, historical ambiance, and cohesion of narrative. What really makes this a truly great film, however, is how its themes are just as relevant and striking here and now as they were in the 1960s.

For a basic plot summary, "All The Way" tells the story of President Lyndon B. Johnson's (Bryan Cranston) first year in office. The primary focus is on the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the type of political and social upheaval/compromises that here undertaken to make it a reality. Key personal/political figures of the early Johnson Administration also feature heavily, such as Martin Luther King Jr. (Anthony Mackie), Lady Bird (Melissa Leo), Senator Richard Russell (Frank Langella), Senator Hubert Humphrey (Bradley Whitford), & J. Edgar Hoover (Stephen Root).

It is amazing (and equal parts inspiring and sad) to watch "All The Way" and understand how the Civil Rights Act was neither the beginning nor the end of race issues in this country. In this current era of Black Lives Matter and other racial-based demonstrations fighting for justice, the struggles of Dr. King, the NAACP, the American government, and the populace at large are driven home even further (as they are so much on the forefront of politics and society right now).

Acting-wise, the performances are solid all-around, with Cranston especially shining (when does he ever not?!) as LBJ (from what I have read/seen, an uncanny resemblance in terms of mannerisms). Cranston first inhabited this role on Broadway in 2014, so it makes sense that he is the most comfortable here.

Thus, with the combination of tremendous acting and incredibly relevant themes, I consider "All The Way" to be a biopic of the highest order (my only slight complaint would be it perhaps could have been trimmed by 15 minutes or so). I'm a big fan of the biopic genre, as I feel like it has so much power (along with a high degree of responsibility, obviously) to bring the past alive and more relate-able than a textbook or tome ever could. "All The Way" succeeds wildly in this regard.