At the forefront of this narrative isRichard Gerewho plays Pete St. John.
Hes a silver-tongued campaign consultant who knows exactly how to sell a candidate.
Directed bySidney Lumet,Poweris an exploration of the world of political image-making.
Image by Jefferson Chacon
There, truth is just another marketing strategy and all that matters is perception.
Long before social media turned elections into reality shows, this film showed viewers the entire playbook.
Campaigns are won in backrooms, not ballot boxes, and the real power players are completely anonymous.
Image via Warner Bros
Perhaps thats why watchingPowertoday feels lesslike a throwbackand eerily resonant.
In a nutshell, it reflects a world where campaign strategists still hold most of the cards.
For instance, Geres character isnt a politician, and by all indications, hes fine with that.
However, hes the guy who decides which ones win elections… at least thats part of it.
Crafting images, selling narratives, and making sure his candidates say a whole lot without actually saying anything.
The iconic Gene Hackman sadly passed away on February 26.
Perhaps thats whyPowerstill hits so hard.
First off, Geres Pete St. John is the slick, fast-talking campaign consultant who plays kingmaker.
Hes not quite invested in ideologies because all that drives him are results.
All in all, the campaign consultant shines thanks to his ability to shape candidates like clay.
So as long as the money keeps rolling in, hes happy to do just about anything.
In the film, his broad influence is threatened by Hackmans character, Wilfred Buckley.
Lets not forget Denzel Washington, who was still quite early in his career but already stealing the spotlight.
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