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Actors: Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Oliver Platt, Paul Sorvino, Jack Warden, Don Cheadle, Isaiah Washington, Richard C. Sarafian
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Bulworth |
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When longtime California Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (Warren Beatty) finds himself in an uphill primary battle that forces him to mouth conservative platitudes in which he does not believe, he begins to slide toward a nervous breakdown.
A former liberal activist, he now spends his days trading his votes on the Senate floor for big checks from the representative of the insurance lobby (Paul Sorvino). Finally, after almost a solid week without food or sleep, he snaps. Taking out a $10 million life insurance policy on himself, he arranges for a hit man to be sent to kill him.
Now, freed by the knowledge of his impending demise, the half-crazed Bulworth returns to California for the last leg of his campaign, shocking his campaign manager (Oliver Platt) by telling the unvarnished truth at a fundraiser full of entertainment moguls.
Dragging his aides to an after-hours club in Compton, Bulworth discovers a new-found love for rapping out rhyming rants against power and privilege and falls in love with Nina (Halle Berry), a young black woman with ties to a local gangster (Don Cheadle).
Now that Bulworth has found a reason to go on living, he must somehow stop the contract the on his life from being carried out. But not before he finishes speaking his mind to the people...
--James Craver, Resident Scholar
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Senator Jay Bulworth of California (Beatty) is running for reelection in 1996. But he's sick of the whole process: sick of repeating the same tired cliches, sick of the money interests, sick of lying to his constituents, sick of life itself. He takes out a $10 million life insurance policy and names his 17-year-old daughter as sole beneficiary, then orders a hit on himself. With his own death looming in a few days, he suddenly feels free to speak the truth, so he sets out to shock everyone with it, offering racist and hate-filled speeches to the public and even doing some rap. Naturally this freaks out his coke-sniffing campaign manager (Platt). But Bulworth's life and campaign are revitalized, and he falls in love with a young black woman, Nina (Berry), from South Central LA and finds a reason to live after all. Naturally, powerful interests rise up against him. This bitter 1998 political satire, co-written and directed by its star, resembles the "take no prisoners" approach of "Network" and is sometimes too obvious, repetitive, and angry to work entirely well, but it was a huge and refreshing risk on the part of its creator.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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BULWORTH is a movie written and directed by Warren Beatty in 1998. Nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.
Senator Jay Bulworth is suicidal. A few days before the californian vote, he hires a contract out on his own life. From this moment on, life changes for him and for his electors. Bulworth decides to speak the truth : to the african american community, to the economical leaders, in fact to everybody. People adore his new image as Bulworth is speaking like a south L.A. rapper. He also soon falls in love with Halle Berry, a member of the african american community. Now, Bulworth doesn't want anymore to be killed and is desperately trying to cancel the contract. A tragi-comedy.
Simply the best american movie of 1998.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Bulworth |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- (General) search for meaning/identity
Kind of comedy
- political satire
Battle with shrink/bum?
- wisdom from a homeless man or bum
How much humor v. drama
- Lot of humor, but significant serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn curly
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Black
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- Los Angeles
- dirty, grimy (like New York)
- Washington D.C.
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
Any profanity?
- A lot of foul language
If lots of song/dance...
- lot of singing and dancing
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Rap/hip-hop
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 James Craver
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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