- Based on the Robert Penn Warren novel. The life of populist Southerner Willie Stark, a political creature loosely based on Governor Huey Long of Louisiana.
- In the 1950s, in Louisiana, the smart populist, manipulative and wolf hick Willie Stark (Sean Penn) is elected Governor with the support of the lower social classes. He joins a team composed of his bodyguard and friend Sugar Boy (Jackie Earle Haley); the journalist from an aristocratic family Jack Burden (Jude Law); the lobbyist Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini); and his mistress Sadie Burke (Patricia Clarkson), to face the opposition of the upper classes. When the influent Judge Irwin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) supports a group of politicians in their request of impeachment, Stark assigns Jack to find some dirtiness along the life of Irwin, leading to a tragedy in the end.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- In 1950's Jack Burden (Jude Law), a Louisiana news reporter, takes a personal interest in Willie Stark (Sean Penn), an idealistic small-town (Mason City) lawyer and parish treasurer. Stark meets Duffy when he was out raising funds for building a new school in his town. Burden was asked by his paper to cover a possible investigation in a corruption matter regarding the new school. The board passed over the lowest bid (which was from a big firm) and gave it to their preferred local contractor. Stark confirms to Burden that the board's corruption costed the state $33K. The lowest bidder was suspected to be using African American labor and the board didn't care for that. Due to his public campaign against corruption, Stark is not able to run for office again and his wife Lucy Stark (Talia Balsam) was fired from her teaching job.
Circumstances develop that result in Tiny Duffy (James Gandolfini), a local political leader Burden knows, urging Stark to run for governor (Duffy has also intervened in the schoolhouse matter to ensure that Stark's name was cleared). Burden's upbringing makes him familiar with the undercurrent of politics - he was raised by his loving godfather Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins), a former state attorney general, while his good friend, Dr. Adam Stanton (Mark Ruffalo), and his sister Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet)-also Burden's former lover-are the children of a former governor. Burden and Adam grew up together. Burden had a crush on Anne, but never expressed his feelings to her. Burden therefore decides to take Duffy's advice and travels as a reporter on Stark's campaign for governor.
The politically astute Burden soon deduces, and Duffy strategist (and subsequently Stark's mistress) Sadie Burke (Patricia Clarkson) confirms, that Duffy is using Stark to split his party's vote and thus allow the opposing party to win. They tell Stark, who begins to give speeches in a straightforward manner (like a man who is just as angry as the rest of them) to appeal to the public, in defiance of the advice given to him by Duffy. His vigorous strategy attacks the corruption of the existing players and promises schools and roads for his "fellow ignorant hicks" (he even attacks Duffy as the "city man", trying to hustle the hick votes), resulting in Stark winning the election. He manages Duffy by making him his lieutenant governor. Stark recruits Burden to work for him as an adviser.
The senate is still controlled by industrialists and oilmen, who didn't vote for Stark. The rich wanted him out, as he wanted to build roads, bridges and poor for the poor and the African Amercians. Stark decides to raise taxes on oil to fund his infrastructure builds. Burden defends Stark's policies against Irwin and other rich people who think Stark will drive the business out of the state. Donald Stark (Frederic Forrest) is Stark's father.
Stark proves to be a very persuasive governor, delivering on many of his new projects. Irwin disapproves of Stark and publicly supports an investigation of possible graft in the new spending. Irwin wants Stark impeached and won't relent even after Burden arranges a meeting between the two. Burden points out that graft is the elite's word for what the previous politicians had always done (and never faced any punishments for it), while Stark openly tells his crowds that his "crooks, unlike theirs, are Itty Bitty" compared to the elite's.
Irwin continues criticizing Stark as political controversies begin to unfold. Stark demands that Burden seek information on the judge to be used against him. Jack insists that there is no such information (Jack was reluctant as Irwin was a father to Jack when his own father left him and his mother suddenly). Jack seeks out Anne in order to dig deeper into Irwin's past. Anne is reluctant to help Stark against Irwin and is disappointed how Burden is helping Stark. Jack digs on his own and finds that Irwin was an attorney general with a meager pay when he married with Mabel, who came from a rich family but had squandered her inheritance on parties and clothes. She was broke when she married Irwin.
Stark convinces Adam Stanton to head a new public hospital (Burden knows that Stark is using Adam to show the Senators that he has the son of the most respected man in the state, standing next to him) (Burden tells Adam that he wont be able to resist the temptation to do a good deed, even though he might hate Stark and what he represents) while he begins having an affair with Anne, provoking Burke's jealousy and Burden's disappointment. Eventually Jack discovers evidence of a bribe that Irwin used to get his appointment many years prior, leading an opponent to commit suicide (he had followed some newspaper leads and spoke to the sister of the man who committed suicide. She produced a letter her brother wrote to her explaining everything, the night before he killed himself. Irwin had purposefully botched an investigation against the oil companies, in exchange for being made judge by getting the incumbent fired).
Burden is upset with Stark and hasn't disclosed this information to him yet. Stark is upset since the impeachment vote is on the calendar. He needs the dirt on Irwin to survive as if Irwin falls, the rest will fall in line automatically. Stark pleads Burden to use whatever info he has on Irwin. Burden supports Stark. Jack meets Irwin and tells him to call off the attacks on Stark, but Irwin refuses. Burden shows him the letter as proof, but Irwin still wont budge. Following this revelation, Irwin himself commits suicide. Burden's mother Rachel (Kathy Baker) then tells him that Irwin treated him with such love because he was his biological father, which causes a great amount of guilt for Burden.
Stark utilizes many methods of corruption to consolidate his power, including patronage and intimidation. Adam is told that Stark is using the hospital project to rob the state and is framing him in the process. Burden and Anne both assure Adam that this is false. Adam also becomes enraged when he learns of Stark's affair with his sister.
Adam waits at the state capitol and assassinates Stark (while the impeachment proceedings were on and defeated by 22 votes to 17), only to be immediately killed by the governor's bodyguard Roderick "Sugar Boy" Ellis (Jackie Earle Haley). It is later revealed that Adam was influenced by Duffy and Burke (who gave false information to Adam that Stark was stealing from the hospital) to murder Stark, allowing Duffy to succeed Stark as governor.
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