MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE – Review

As we reach that light-at-the-end-of the-tunnel that concludes the 2017 movie year, theatres are now filled with stories “inspired by true events” and “biopics”. This new release is a bit of both, like last weekend’s MARSHALL, this tells the story of one man, while focusing on one major event or incident of his long life. Unlike the former Supreme Court justice, this person was not well known by the general public. However, his “nickname” became legendary, thanks in part to a Best Picture Oscar winner. Though the film’s title may sound seem like hyperbole, it presents much evidence to support it in MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE.

We first meet mark Felt (Liam Neeson) on a crisp May morning in 1972 as he readies himself for another day in DC as Deputy Associate Director of the FBI (the number three guy at the Bureau). After kissing his wife Audrey (Diane Lane) goodbye, he is driven to the White House for a meeting with three of President Nixon’s top aides, the three Johns, Mitchell, Ehrlichman, and Dean (Michael C. Hall). With the elections only a few months away, they pressure Felt to “crack down” on the counter-culture groups. Felt reminds them that the FBI doesn’t take its orders from the oval office. Days later, the nation is stunned by the death of the bureau’s founder, J. Edgar Hoover. It’s assumed that Felt will take over as acting director until the president appoints L. Patrick Gray (Martin Csokas) to the position. While his wife, friends, and colleagues are shocked, Felt tries to work smoothly with his new boss. The next month, the Watergate Hotel break-in occurs. As Felt oversees an investigation into the burglary, he is pressured by Gray to “wrap it up” quickly. When Felt learns of the burglars connections to Nixon aides like E. Howard Hunt. he believes that Gray is acting on orders from the White House, a violation of the founding principles of the FBI. In order to get the truth out, Felt passes files on to Time magazine reporter Sandy Smith (Bruce Greenwood) at an out-of-the-way diner. Later, after hearing of the Washington Post’s articles, he meets with reporter Bob Woodward (Julian Morris) after hours at a desolate parking garage. Woodward will refer to his source only as “Deep Throat”. Gray and his advisors now have a new mission: find the “leak”. Felt must constantly watch his back as Washington and the nation is thrown into turmoil. How long can his involvement remain a secret?

In the title role, Neeson combines the gravitas of Aslan, Zeus, and Qui-Gon Jinn with a touch of the menace of Bryan Mills from the TAKEN series along with the a hint of the weary sadness of Oskar Schindler. With his silver pompadour Felt is a regal mature lion with little tolerance for the petty fools that surround him. This deflects the inquiring questions that jab him as the “mole hunt” begins. Neeson has an easy chemistry with Lane, who is regulated to the cliché “woman on the phone” far too often. While Felt seems unable to vent, she lets out her rage and frustration that their sacrifices appear to have meant nothing to those choosing a new FBI chief. The diner exchanges also crackle thanks to the superb delivery of Greenwood as the prodding, probing reporter. Tony Goldwyn and Josh Lucas also shine as Felt’s Bureau BFFs who respect and trust him above all others. And kudos to the producers for thinking “outside the box” by casting the talented comic actor/writer Ike Barinholtz (SNATCHED, SISTERS) as the cynical, suspicious filed agent, Angelo Lano. Plus Csokas makes a terrific “arch-enemy” as the devious , plotting Gray with Hall’s Dean a conniving cohort. Oh, and welcome back to Tom Sizemore as the seedy, “not afraid to get his hands dirty” agent Bill Sullivan whose withering stare speaks volumes.

With a cast like this, the film should be a riveting historical/ political thriller. Yes it should, but the pedestrian direction from Peter Landesman (who also adapted the books by Felt and John D. O’Connor) never allows the story to break out and really breathe. This flick moves at a snail’s pace, with little sense of urgency as new characters are introduced with bits of clumsy dialogue (“Well, Mark Felt and Bill Sullivan, together again”). Since it covers the same events, this film can’t help but suffer in comparison to the iconic journalism thriller ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (that Oscar winner still retains its power). The vintage fashions and hair styles of this new flick look authentic, but the muted, dark cinematography give the movie a cold, dingy feel. The addition of a side story of Felt trying to locate his daughter Joan, who seems to have been swallowed up by the “hippie” movement feels wedged in as a way to give the principals more humanity. It only serves to slow the pace even more (I was reminded of the love story forced into THE CAINE MUTINY). Unlike the 1976  Redford/Hoffman classic (wonder it it’s streaming), MARK FELT: THE MAN WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE WHITE HOUSE feels like a dusty museum piece, hastily erected just before the gift shop exit.

2 Out of 5