14. "The Conspirator" (2010)

"Have you never believed in something far greater than yourself?"

(Robin Wright as Mary Surratt)

The first film from Robert Redford's new venture, The American Movie Company, "The Conspirator" tells the story of Mary Surratt (played by Robin Wright), tried as the eighth conspirator (and lone woman) in the assassinations of President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State Seward and the attempted assassination of Vice President Andrew Johnson. Redford does an excellent job of bringing the terror of the country - and the internal moral tension of attorney Frederick Aiken - to light. The film comes at a time when one of the main themes of the film - the moral justice of trying civilians in military tribunals without the protections protected by the Constitution - is especially important, given the moral quandary our country finds itself regarding the disposition of "enemy combatants."

The Film: "The Conspirator" begins with our main character, Frederick Aiken, on the field of battle in the Civil War. We are shown that he is a man of good moral fiber who fought for the Union. We then see the conspirators enacting their plot to assassinate the president, vice president, and secretary of state on that fateful day in April 1865. Soon thereafter, they are rounded up, as is Mary Surratt.

Surratt and the other conspirators are tried in a military tribunal. These tribunals did not allow for the accused to testify in his or her own defense, nor is the prosecution required to give a list of evidence or witnesses in advance to the defense. In other words, the defense is blindsided by the prosecution's case, not having time to prepare an actual defense until they are sitting there in the courtroom. The tribunal is overseen by nine Union generals; guilt is assumed and the defense must prove innocence.

Surratt retains Maryland Sen. Revendy Johnson, who soon asks his friend (and likely his mentee) Frederick Aiken to take over as lead counsel because his loyalty to the Union is questioned (though he once served as U.S. Attorney General). Aiken struggles with this because he does not actually believe that Mary Surratt is innocent of the charges against her, but throughout the film he comes to realize that a person's guilt or innocence does not make him or her less worthy of a strong defense.

The bulk of the film takes place in the courtroom, where Aiken defends Surratt. At several points, Aiken makes objections to the prosecution's case (for legitimate reasons, such as hearsay) but they are overruled. However, when it is Aiken's turn to question the prosecution's witness, he is not permitted to ask questions that would impugn the integrity or credibility of the witness because "the witness is not on trial."

Though the bulk of the film takes place in the courtroom, Redford does an excellent job in portraying the salient political (and social) issues going on as well. Aiken's friends do not understand why he is defending a guilty person, especially one who would dare murder the president (especially a president as beloved by the Union as Lincoln). Secretary of War Stanton often explains that "someone needs to pay for the murder of our president," and insists that Mary Surratt must hang for her crime (which was unheard of at the time). He is adamant that swift and certain justice must happen, or the country cannot effectively mourn its president. At one point, Stanton says that Surratt must hang to maintain the peace that had been garnered by Lee's surrender to Grant - the Union citizens deserve justice, and the Southerners need to know that treason will be punished.

I won't give away the ending - though, if you know the story, you know how it ends. Aiken does his best and goes the distance, even securing a writ of habeas corpus (essentially, a civilian judge agrees that the military tribunal overstepped its bounds and orders Mary Surratt be transferred to the civilian court). Unfortunately, Secretary Stanton will not be undone - he goes to President Johnson and secures a suspension of the writ, and Mary Surratt's fate remains the same.

The Reality: I was deeply touched by this film. Tom McAvoy (who plays Frederick Aiken) is one of my favorite actors (he will forever be Mr. Tumnus to me!) and does an exceptional job portraying the moral war that Aiken wages, both internally and with those around him. He struggles between his moral duty as an attorney to provide a sound defense, regardless of your personal opinions, and his strong loyalty to the Union and his beloved president, Abraham Lincoln. As the film progresses, he comes to realize that even in times of war, America cannot abandon her ideals, or there is no point to any of it. The same protections in the Constitution that should have been afforded to Mary Surratt during this period are the provisions that could protect me should I be accused of a crime. The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to protect us from tyranny - no matter the form it may come in, even extreme patriotism. It was painful as a criminal justice major to watch the system in which I so firmly believe be warped into such an ugly, unmerciful thing as it became during the years following the Civil War. One only hopes we have learned not to let history repeat itself.

"Those who would give up a bit of liberty for a little security deserve neither liberty nor security." (Benjamin Franklin)