Having just seen it, I'll say that it makes me angry all over again!

I knew Danny Strong was brilliant before this, but this is likely to send our superstar on a whole new trajectory.

Nebula1400 | May 26, 06:48 CET

Oh, this smells like an Emmy...

Djungelurban | May 26, 08:01 CET

Added the Ebert review to this thread.

SoddingNancyTribe | May 26, 09:21 CET

I just got home from seeing this (a friend has HBO, I don't) and it was incredible! Kevin Spacey is absolutely awesome! I'm guessing this will be a boat load of Emmys (naturally I hope that Danny gets one for original screenplay!). Every performance was subtle and right on the money, and even though we knew all this stuff, it was still completely spell binding!

embers | May 26, 10:28 CET

There's also a lengthy article on 'Recount' in the biggest German online newspaper here . (It's in German, obviously.) They usually don't review HBO films since nobody here can watch them ... 'Recount' is described as one of the most-discussed films of the season.

Very favourable review of the movie, especially of Laura Dern as Katherine Harris. There's just one brief mention of Danny Strong. It ends on the big "what if...?" question though, which I always think is very pointless.

[ edited by Ariane on 2008-05-26 12:16 ]

Ariane | May 26, 15:14 CET

Okay, I recorded this, and I guess I'm just going to need to watch it, as it sounds excellent. I've been avoiding it, because I get so angry whenever I think about these events that I fear I may spontaneously combust while viewing.

toast | May 26, 16:23 CET

I found that the writing presented a lot of maturity, and I liked many elements of this movie, from the acting to the very interesting and understated score. Can you imagine how incredible it must feel to have Kevin Spacey play the lead in your very first movie? Many congratulations to Danny Strong.

Raggedy Edge | May 26, 18:55 CET

Richard Roeper and the other critic on Ebert and Roeper also gave it two thumbs up last night. They didn't mention Danny at all, although they praised "the script" like it existed independently of the person who wrote it. As a film buff, that's one of my pet peeves about reviewers. Aside from a few superstar writers, they almost always focus on the director or the actors as the reason for a film's success.

shambleau | May 26, 19:36 CET

Danny Strong, you've delivered a masterful story! I lived in Florida at that time and watched, first hand, in disbelief, all that was going on. It made me furious then and when I watched your retelling on HBO, I was sent back to that debacle, (too kind a word) and all the frustration came back - not that it was ever really gone. I must congratulate you on this brilliant accomplishment. I sincerely hope it is the first of many more to come.

AncientMagicks | May 26, 20:55 CET

They didn't mention Danny at all, although they praised "the script" like it existed independently of the person who wrote it. As a film buff, that's one of my pet peeves about reviewers. Aside from a few superstar writers, they almost always focus on the director or the actors as the reason for a film's success.

This is something the WGA should really work on. Why are directors allowed possesory credits but writers aren't? I've read too many cases where the writer isn't invited to the wrap party or even the premier. The longer the writers stay "invisible" the longer they are going to be treated like dirt by the system.

zz9 | May 26, 22:29 CET

Can you imagine how incredible it must feel to have Kevin Spacey play you in a movie?

electricspacegirl | May 27, 03:05 CET

I think the relatively recent rise of quality TV will eventually take care of that. While film still has the prestige, TV's starting to be where the really interesting stuff is happening. As it's a world run by writers (the showrunner is almost always the head writer) that side of things is going to get more and more attention.

Swil | May 27, 04:03 CET

zz9, Swil, given that the last major strike in twenty years didn't change credits, don't hold your breath.

Personally, the movie didn't make me angry that the Democrats didn't pursue the "street fight" further. I found myself more sympathetic to Warren Christopher and Al Gore's restraint than I was at the time, and the movie did teach me things that I didn't know. At least we still have a country with the opportunity to become truly democratic, which is all we've ever had. No? Point me to a fully fair election.

dreamlogic | May 27, 05:09 CET

Sydney Pollack, the noted director, who was also executive producer for Recount, died today, just hours after the premiere of the film. See an account here.

palehorse | May 27, 07:47 CET

Brilliant film, on every level. Knowing that Danny wrote it, I was more aware than usual of specifics of the script and I'm really impressed. Not too shabby with the acting either. When the inevitable award nominations start to roll in, I hope they don't forget who wrote it.

RIP Sydney Pollack *sniffle* a truly spectacular talent.

Shey | May 27, 15:32 CET

I think Kevin Spacey is lucky to be starring in Danny Strong's first movie! :-D

OzLady | May 28, 05:50 CET