Apropos of nothing, you might be wondering, “What if the President of the United States of America turned out to be a bad guy?” This question has been asked in fiction a few times, but rarely as directly as in the filmAbsolute Power, starringClint Eastwoodand directed by him as well. This genial political thriller, adapted from a novel byDavid Baldacci, reunites Eastwood withGene Hackman, who won his second of two Oscars playing the villain for Eastwood inUnforgiven. There, he was an evil sheriff. Here, he wields even more power as an American president. Nevertheless, President Alan Richmond is far less formidable than Little Bill Daggett, one ofthe Western genre’s most frightening villains.InAbsolute Power, the danger isn’t necessarily the man wielding the power but the long shadow he castsand the way underlings will volunteer to do horrible things on his behalf without needing to be asked. In this way, it has aGame of Thronesflavor, and once you start to notice the similarities to the spinoff seriesHouse of the Dragon, the parallels become striking. But which Targaryen king does Gene Hackman’s president most resemble?
Absolute Power
Luther Whitney, a master thief, witnesses a murder involving the President of the United States during a heist. As he becomes a target of a massive cover-up, Luther must navigate a dangerous web of lies and corruption, using his skills to expose the truth while staying one step ahead of those who want him silenced.
What is ‘Absolute Power’ About?
InAbsolute Power, Eastwood plays Luther Whitney, an expert cat burglar whom we meet as he prepares to take a big score. Breaking into a mansion that he believes is empty, he makes a startling discovery.The vault he knows is filled with loot has a one-way mirror through which one can secretly, kinkily spy on the bedroom. Soon, Richmond enters with a much younger woman (Melora Hardin). Luther can only watch –scowling in the Eastwood style– as they drunkenly paw at each other. But Richmond soon becomes violent. When the woman fights back, Richmond calls for help, and two men burst in and shoot her dead.
The movie has stayed completely in Luther’s perspective until now, but soon, we learn that Richmond is the President. The two men are his assigned Secret Service agents (Scott GlennandDennis Haysbert). The dead woman is Christy Sullivan, the second wife of billionaire Walter Sullivan. Under the direction of the President’s nefarious chief of staff, Gloria Russell (Judy Davis), the agents begin cleaning up the President’s mess. Before they have even discovered Luther, they’re planning to blame the murder on a burglar. Realizing he’s in trouble,Luther flees and soon finds himself framed for the crime and on the run.
The thoroughly honest Detective Seth Frank (Ed Harris) is put in charge of the homicide investigation, and he soon realizes that of the few active burglars with the skill to break into the Sullivan mansion, Luther is the only one living in Washington D.C. After the two have a relaxed chat, Luther arranges to flee the country. But at the airport bar, he sees President Richmond give a televised speech alongside Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall), who is one of the President’s closest friends and allies. Luther is appalled at the President’s false display of grief and has a change of heart. Instead of running, he’ll stay and take the President down.The ensuing cat-and-mouse game between Luther, Frank, and the corrupt administration soon draws in Luther’s estranged daughter, Kate (Laura Linney). Luther must keep his family safe from rogue Secret Service agents and an amoral hired killer (Richard Jenkins) while turning the tables on the most powerful man in the world.
Absolute Power Is Unsure About How Far It Wants To Take the Whole ‘Evil President’ Thing
There haven’t been that many stories where the primary villain was the President of the United States. One of the few others to come to mind is Season Five of2000s thriller24. In that season,regarded as one of the show’s best, Jack Bauer faced off against President Charles Logan, who had assumed power following the death of President Keeler, who had himself assumed power after the sudden resignation of President David Palmer (coincidentally played by Dennis Haysbert, withPenny Johnson Jerald, who plays Ed Harris' partner inAbsolute Power, as his First Lady).President Logan was evil, but he was not elected.The people had selected the good and decent President Palmer (only to have their peaceful vision destroyed by terrorists who hate our freedoms).
Absolute Powerfinds its own way to enjoy the fun and games that come with a villainous President without the controversy of an evil President who comes to power by winning the popular support of an evil American voting public. Eastwood doesn’t critique the public. In fact, quite the opposite.In interviews, he explained that his movie reflected “a certain cynicism among the public about our leaders,” The violent and philandering President Randolph was widely assumed to be a stand-in for President Bill Clinton, but Eastwood insisted that any resemblance was unintentional.It’s an apolitical political thriller.
It may seem silly to discuss the politics of a movie that strives not to have any. But what’s interesting about the mechanics ofAbsolute Power(which was written bymaster scribeWilliam Goldman) isthe way it sets about building a plot firewall between the president and the public. In fact, the film sets about protecting the idea of democracy by pretending it doesn’t exist. As is made clear, President Randolph owes his victory not to the will of the people but entirely to one man: billionaire Walter Sullivan, who bankrolled his campaign.
If the idea ofa billionaire single-handedly selecting the Presidentis unsettling, don’t worry. As we are constantly reminded,Sullivan is a benevolent billionaire who is decent to his core.His father was a miner who died of coal lung; Sullivan earned his fortune (we never learn how) so he could buy the mine and shut it down. He gives billions to charity. He takes his entire staff to Barbados every year, which is why his house was available to be burgled. His only questionable act is that he married a much younger woman. But as he explains, this was because, after the pain of losing his first wife, he wanted a partner who would outlive him. Poor guy!
Of course, if you’re looking toAbsolute Powerfor advice as to how to deal with an evil President, you should know that Sullivan, having seen the error of his ways in trusting Randolph, takes responsibility for fixing his own mistakes.It might seem silly to expect this kind of defector from the billionaire capitalist class(though it seems significant thatthis is the only plot solutionWilliam Goldman could come up with).
The Strange Parallel Between ‘Absolute Power’ and ‘House of the Dragon’
Wait a minute, doesn’t that sound a bit familiar? Walter Sullivan,a good and decent man with the power of a king, whose only flaw is that he married a much younger woman after the death of his beloved wife?Do you hear that…? That’s King Viserys Targaryen’s music!
This isn’t the only parallel between the 90s political thriller and the 2020s fantasy spinoff, nor are the parallels a coincidence. In President Randolph,Absolute Powerhas a relatively passive villain. Randolph has no inherent desire to harm the public. On the contrary, he is a weak man who prefers to be liked. Other than his sexual violence, the harm Randolph causes is through his underlings, who take it upon themselves to do great evil on his behalf simply to keep him in power. In this way, he is likeKing Aegon II.However, President Randolph doesn’t seem quite depraved enoughto watch children fight to the death.
It doesn’t really stop there. Judy Davis playsa behind-the-scenes operator who does the dirty work while keeping her boss' hands clean, aHouse of the Dragonarchetypebest exemplified byLord Larys Strong(she even has a kink for her boss). Dennis Haysbert, as Agent Collin, is aChriston Coletype who becomes indispensable because of his willingness to escalate violence, while his partner Agent Burton is a good person who chooses to keep his oath rather than do the right thing.
House of the Dragonhas frequently been criticized for its reliance on misunderstandings and unfortunate coincidences to escalate its central conflict. Its two most powerful characters,the Queens Rhaenyra and Alicent, wish for peace, but in either faction, there are those who amplify their ruler’s flaws by doing horrible things, unbidden, to help their ruler gain power. InHouse of the Dragon, you get the sense that there are too many unintended consequences as a way of correcting the originalGame of Thrones, which went to the “evil king” story well a few too many times. Whatever the motives, in both cases, what you see arethe plot contortions are necessary when an author wants the thrill of powerful villains but is unwilling to wholly criticize the human will to wield power.It’s an interesting experiment, but the need for an endless series of coincidences to make the plot math work is the predictable results.
Absolute Power is available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.
