Amy Rice's "The Independent" opens with an intriguing thought experiment: What if John Cena ran for president as a well-meaning, hyper-charismatic third-party candidate who promised to temper Republican madness, bypass Democratic inaction, and liberate to the United States at all? crypto-fascist corporate interests that have made this country too cancerous to govern? What if, this star-studded Peacock original movie teases in its opening trailer, that candidate so effectively reconciled the red/blue divide that he was leading in the polls just days before the general election?
Those are tantalizing questions, made even more so by the degree to which Cena's would-be himbo-in-chief, a former Olympian who is now riding a best-selling manifesto called "A Declaration of Independence" all the way to the White House. both extremely likeable, and also believable despite his inexperience. Evan Parter's script alludes to the fact that another political oddball has recently managed to become president, so why not Nate Sterling?
Director: Amy Rice
Writer: Evan Parter
Stars: Jodie Turner-Smith, Brian Cox, Luke Kirby
If only the answer this movie offered to that question wasn't so frustratingly divorced from its premise. Because despite appearances, "The Independent" isn't much interested in the implications of a three-horse race through the Oval Office, or the feasibility of a down-to-earth superman who unites the country with promises that appeal to both sides of the world. hallway. No, that's just a pretext for a tense but ultimately toothless controversy over the value of truth and the need for an independent press, as the film shifts its focus to a couple of one-note journalists working for expose the little scandal that could threaten Sterling's campaign and the future of the entire country along with it.
"In an age of universal deception," reads the epigram attributed to George Orwell, "telling the truth is a revolutionary act." True, but that doesn't mean it's always the right one.
“The Independent” is too threadbare and barely drafted for us to make that distinction here, and not just because we never have enough evidence to believe that a private mistake could derail a populist movement of MAGA proportions; when the film's story flashes back to the days just before Nate announces his candidacy, he immediately cares far more about the health of our capital's newspapers than any of the campaigns they might be about to cover. . Our first look inside The Washington Chronicle's newsroom takes place the morning after its last sale to a group of anonymous billionaires planning to strip it piecemeal, with Stephen Lang's southern editor-in-chief foaming at the mouth over the the need for paper to evolve.
Watch The Independent 2022 Movie Trailer
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