Educational 'Conspirator' is a bit stuffy

By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY

The Conspirator brings to life a little-known chapter in American history, hinged on an unsettling military trial.

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  By Claudette Barius, The American Film Company

  Robin Wright stars as Mary Surratt, who was tried as a conspirator in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln.

By Claudette Barius, The American Film Company

Robin Wright stars as Mary Surratt, who was tried as a conspirator in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln.

Though it grabbed national headlines in its day, the story of the lone woman charged with conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln has seldom been covered in history classes.

Most people know about John Wilkes Booth's role as Lincoln's killer, but far fewer know about Mary Surratt and her alleged involvement in the events that led up the assassination.

Kudos to director Robert Redford for his effort to educate audiences. Unfortunately, this quiet, deliberately paced film sometimes feels more stilted and educational than compelling. There's a stiffness that keeps the story from packing a punch. Still, it's handsomely mounted, and its best moments have the patina of a Masterpiece Theatre production.

Surratt is played with a coiled intensity by Robin Wright. In 1865, Surratt ran the Washington boardinghouse where the plot to kill Lincoln was believed to have been devised. Her son John (Johnny Simmons) was allegedly one of the co-conspirators. But after Lincoln's death, John Surratt disappeared. Officials put Mary on trial in some part because John could not be found. That she was a woman refusing to submit information in a male-dominated society added fuel to their fire.

* * * out of four

Stars: Robin Wright Penn, James McAvoy, Tom Wilkinson, Evan Rachel Wood, Kevin Kline
Director: Robert Redford
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Rating: PG-13 for some violent content
Running time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Opens nationwide Friday

Redford methodically presents the injustices piled on Surratt and suggests what might have prompted her stoicism. But James D. Solomon's script is often flat, perhaps in a misguided effort to be stately.

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