Certainly, this film has one goal in mind. It's to tell a real life story, if maybe dramatized, but clearly the filmmakers saw some dramatic potential in it. They may have been right, as the story is pretty intriguing even if the film was told in a matter-of-fact way. The performances are all exquisite, so great seeing Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson, and especially Laura Dern, one of my favorites, giving some truly great showy work in this, showy in a humanized way that comes across somehow realistic and still in line with the melodramatic sort of tones the film is aiming for at times. The film is very solid, although maybe not really that great, but certainly entertaining enough.

"Recount" takes us back to the 2000 controversial presidential election (Gore vs. Bush) with the numbers problem in Florida, something that hold the election results for a brief yet suffocating period with both Republican and Democrat parties fighting for the presidency. The main characters here are the personnel representing both candidates, the Democrat team led by Ron Klain (Kevin Spacey) supporting Al Gore, and claiming for the votes recount after a gigantic difference between what TV was showing and the numbers his staff got with another source; and the Republican are led by former Secretary of State James Baker (Tom Wilkinson) who are opposed to the recount and want the result of Bush's victory to be maintained. And there's Katherine Harris (Laura Dern) holding a kind of power she shouldn't really hold.We all know what happened, Bush won, there's no surprise in that scenario but the movie never at any moment failed to make us admired of all the events behind one of the most dramatic political decisions to ever take place. There's tension, there's conflict and there's excitement. Everything's here: the numbers, the problem with the chad's, the poorest people that weren't allowed to vote, the many stances of recounting the votes, procedure problems, the Supreme Court's decision, it's all here! Don't be fooled just because you already know what's going to happen, there's so many great things and it's so thrilling to see what happened that for one moment you can pretend you don't have a clue of what's to come.This is directed by Jay Roach, known primarily for his Austin Powers flicks, and it's quite a surprise to see his name associated with this serious theme and more than that, he didn't failed. He doesn't get intimidated by the stellar cast (other directors would be) and impress us by making us follow, for the most part, the cause that will be lost, the team that is not gonna win. Promising and winning strategies that failed but with plenty of lessons learned. His most recent achievement "Game Change" (again with HBO) follows closely the McCain/Palin campaign and the whole triumphant scheme behind another important election that turned out to be lost by the Republican. To the audience that sees as this being a boring film, here comes another serious political movie deep down in its gray and uninteresting areas, well, you're wrong. "Recount" can be and it is hilariously funny, warm, easy to follow, only problematic to viewers from nations whose election system works differently than the one current in U.S. (no matter how many times someone explain it to me, I'll never get it. I would love to make this part longer comparing to how do we vote here but it's better not to). To the viewers outside of America, I insist you to watch it despite all the problems you might have, there's rewarding moments of wisdom in the movie (Baker's speech on how he changed of political party after his wife's death is one of those great moments on film that are rarely made these days).As for the acting, this has some of the greatest ever filmed. Denis Leary, Bob Balaban, John Hurt, Adam LeFrevre, Marc Macaulay, Bruce McGill, Bruce Altman, Ed Begley Jr. and others are part of the great ensemble cast that composed both teams of "Recount". However, the three outstanding performers are Kevin Spacey, Laura Dern and Tom Wilkinson. Spacey is the magnet that makes everyone involved with such deep story, he's the one for whom we cheer (even if he's playing against the party you're support you're gonna like this man); Dern makes something really impressive with the character she plays, it's part characterization, part mockery but it's not something scandalous. It's funny in the right measure, very different from a comical sketch because there's emotional, insightful lines. Wilkinson isn't the one you root for but it's certainly the one from who you get the best lessons, the best way to overcome things, a wise character.Smart, humored, critical about the political process and its machine, true to the facts, "Recount" manages something almost impossible: to present surprises when they seemed completely inexistent or hard to find. For that and more it's a must-see film, that's a fact. 10/10

If you were paying attention to the United States presidential election in 2000, then I suppose you must have a streak of masochism in order to watch this recapitulation--it is bound to stir up the powerful emotions experienced at the time, no matter what side of the divide you were on. Just read some of the reviews and comments to verify what a hot button issue this still is. If you were not paying attention in 2000, or you are too young to remember, then this film will certainly introduce you to all the major events and issues: hanging chads, dimpled chads, recounts, court cases, accusations of voter suppression, confusing ballots, the status of military votes, and so forth. The major players in this high-stakes drama are all here too, and documentary footage is inserted for believability. The film is definitely more than loosely based on fact, since most of the public statements are taken from the record. It's the extrapolations to what went on behind closed doors that is open to question.This plays like a thriller, even for those who are familiar with the story. If none of this ever happened, then I think all would agree that this is a good movie with a great plot and fine cast. Laura Dern, as Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris, creates a memorable character and Tom Wilkinson is a standout as Bush's legal adviser James Baker (Secratary of State under George H. W. Bush). Wilkinson captures Baker almost to the point where you could mistake him for the real person.I think it came as a surprise at the time that the United States election process could ever be so fouled up. If there is a non-partisan message to be had from this movie it is that measures should be taken to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. While the 2000 election led to the Election Reform Act of 2002, the process is still far from perfect, especially since implementation details are left up to the individual states. Much controversy still exists over electronic voting machines, requirements for user ID, and so forth. And the current Coleman vs. Franken senate contest in Minnesota, now in its fourth month and still undecided, proves that extremely close contests are still messy affairs. Since there are so many arguments to be made on either side in such cases, I often think that such close elections should be decided by a coin toss.It seems impossible to find a generally-accepted unbiased telling of the 2000 election. The reviews for all books I have looked into seem to split on party lines. Maybe it is impossible to be impartial on this one.

Surprisingly entertaining but ultimately not very topical anymore (the two sides have stayed pretty much unchanged since the 2000 Presidential election debacle in Florida), RECOUNT is engaging thanks to the powerful performances of some high-caliber actors.Kevin Spacey (SUPERMAN RETURNS) leads the way as attorney Ron Klain. Pulled into the legal quagmire of Al Gore's attempt to get a recount done in Florida after several irregularities popped up, Spacey is easy to watch and makes the viewer feel at home with the character/man.By his side is the foul-mouthed but implacable Michael Whooley (Dennis Leary, ICE AGE 2) who fights tooth-and-nail to try and get the recount started, too, but is hamstrung by idiots within the Democratic Party and a surprise ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court (did you know that they basically elected George Bush?). Tom Wilkinson (THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE) hits the other side of the tables (i.e., the Republicans) as James Baker. Crafty and wise, Baker gets ahead of the game and wins for his side thanks to some unique legal maneuvers.I would be remiss, however, if I didn't give some serious kudos to Laura Dern who played the role of Katherine Harris, the former Secretary of State of Florida. Winning a surprising Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in a made-for-TV film, Dern's Harris was absolutely flawless. Her self-absorbed persona mixed with her powerful position made me shiver, which was exactly what I should've been doing.The sad part is that with a few more dollars I think this film could've been upgraded from 'made-for-TV' and had a decent showing at cinemas. But we have what we have. It's an interesting run at a nine-year-old subject, and it still eats at me, but it didn't deliver anything I didn't already know ...and loathe.