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  3. 20 powerful movies based on real-life political drama

20 powerful movies based on real-life political drama

From JFK to All the President's Men to Lincoln, our votes for 20 of the best films about real-life people in positions of public trust – and how they and those around them use/abuse the responsibility 

By Darren Franich and Keith Staskiewicz Updated July 27, 2022 at 12:31 PM EDT
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Lincoln (2012)

Early viewers regard Steven Spielberg's historical epic as a master class in acting, writing, directing, and practically every other cinematic skill. Daniel Day-Lewis is virtually…
Credit: David James

Chronicling Abraham Lincoln's historic fight to pass the 13th Amendment, which ended the enslavement of — and ensured freedom for — Black people in America, Steven Spielberg's film may cover a short period in the 16th president's life, but its sweeping stance on America's bloodiest conflict is by no means limited. EW's Owen Gleiberman deemed the film ''one of the most authentic biographical dramas I've ever seen," adding, ''The movie is grand and immersive. It plugs us into the final months of Lincoln's presidency with a purity that makes us feel transported as though by time machine.'' —Lanford Beard

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JFK (1991)

Kevin Costner, JFK | Who killed President John F. Kennedy? Everyone, if you believe Oliver Stone's investigative thriller. The Mafia, the Cuban government, the military-industrial complex, a shady cabal…
Credit: Everett Collection

Who killed President John F. Kennedy? Everyone, if you believe Oliver Stone's investigative thriller. The Mafia, the Cuban government, the military-industrial complex, a shady cabal of wealthy gay swingers, and even President Lyndon B. Johnson are all implicated by the director as co-conspirators in the Kennedy assassination. As verifiable history, it's a wash, but the sprawling film is a memorable portrait of old-school Americana (personified by Kevin Costner as a Gary Cooper-esque lawman) fighting a losing battle with late-century free-floating paranoia. —Darren Franich

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Fair Game (2010)

Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, ... | The story of Valerie Plame — whose status as a CIA agent was outed by sources close to Vice President Cheney — is a small…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

The story of Valerie Plame — whose status as a CIA agent was outed by sources close to U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney — is a small but pivotal tale in the long chronicle of Bush-era controversies. Doug Liman's film may be the lowest of low-key thrillers, but it's an intriguing peek behind the curtain. And kudos to character actor David Andrews, whose ''Scooter'' Libby is a memorably preening political grotesque. —D.F.

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The Queen (2006)

Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, ... | English royals hold no real political power. Their duties are purely administrative. Their great strength lies with the public. So when the public turns against…
Credit: Everett Collection

British royals hold no real political power. Their duties are purely administrative, and their great strength lies with the public. So when the public turns against them, what purpose do they serve? That's the anxious undertone of The Queen, which focuses on the immediate aftermath of the death of Princess Diana. As the troubled Queen, Helen Mirren is unforgettable, winning an Oscar among dozens of other awards for her performance. The Queen is also the middle chapter of the Tony Blair trilogy in which Michael Sheen hands in a spot-on portrayal of the former British Prime Minister. —D.F.

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Milk (2008)

Sean Penn, Milk | One of the unexpected pleasures of Milk was the nimble way Gus Van Sant portrayed the nuts-and-bolts of political activism, etching Harvey Milk's private rise…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

One of the unexpected pleasures of Milk is the nimble way Gus Van Sant portrays the nuts-and-bolts of political activism, etching Harvey Milk's private rise to power on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors against the larger emergence of the Gay Rights movement. The film, which won Sean Penn his second Oscar, is a fine tale of the American democratic process with an unbearable true-life dénouement: The assassination of Milk and Mayor George Moscone by city supervisor Dan White. —D.F.

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Gangs of New York (2002)

Jim Broadbent, Gangs of New York | Martin Scorsese's decades-in-the-making dream project ran over-budget and had a famously troubled production, and the end result is a fascinating mess filled with bizarre tangents.…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

Martin Scorsese's decades-in-the-making dream project ran over budget and had a famously troubled production, and the end result is a fascinating mess filled with bizarre tangents. Occasionally, Gangs becomes a portrait of late-19th century New York politics, and Jim Broadbent gloriously chews the scenery as infamous Tammany Hall politician Boss Tweed. —D.F.

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Il Divo (2008)

Toni Servillo, Il Divo | The true-life tale of the fabulously corrupt Giulio Andreotti, former President of Italy, becomes — in the hands of writer-director Paolo Sorrentino — a film…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

In the hands of writer-director Paolo Sorrentino, the true-life tale of Giulio Andreotti, the fabulously corrupt former President of Italy, becomes a film that's simultaneously tragic and funny. Andreotti's ties to the mob (and the possibility that he ordered political assassinations) are horrifying. Equally horrifying: The real-life Andreotti walked free, with the title ''Senator for Life," until his death in 2013. —D.F.

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Marie (1985)

Sissy Spacek | You may not remember Ray Blanton, the Governor of Tennessee whose administration was rife with cronyism and bribery. You may also not remember Marie Ragghianti,…
Credit: Everett Collection

You may not remember Ray Blanton, the governor of Tennessee whose administration was rife with cronyism and bribery. You may also not remember Marie Ragghianti, the head of the Tennessee parole board whose anti-Blanton crusade forms the basis of 1985's Marie, with Sissy Spacek playing Ragghianti. But here's a name you might know: future presidential candidate Fred Thompson made his acting debut in Marie...as Ragghianti's attorney, future presidential candidate Fred Thompson. (Ain't politics grand?) —D.F.

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All the President's Men (1976)

Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, ... | The fiction translation: Bob Woodward got a whole lot prettier as played by Robert Redford, but other than that, not much is changed. The entire…
Credit: Everett Collection

While Bob Woodward got a whole lot prettier as played by Robert Redford, not much else is changed in this accounting of the Watergate scandal. The incident itself takes place off-screen, and, other than a brief clip at the end, Nixon doesn't appear at all. The consummate process film is a deliberate portrayal of shoe-leather journalism and uncovering the government rot from the outside in. —Keith Staskiewicz

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Primary Colors (1998)

John Travolta, Primary Colors | Based on Joe Klein's bestselling roman à clef, Primary Colors fictionalizes specifics and changes names, but there's no doubt that John Travolta's grey-haired charmer is…
Credit: Everett Collection

Based on Joe Klein's bestselling roman à clef, Primary Colors fictionalizes specifics and changes names, but there's no doubt that John Travolta's gray-haired charmer is an analog of Bill Clinton. And, pursuant to real life, presidential candidate Jack Stanton's campaign dreams are haunted by the consequences of his sexual past. —K.S.

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Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Tom Hanks, Charlie Wilson's War | Tom Hanks plays Democratic congressman Charlie Wilson from Texas who facilitated the CIA's covert efforts in Afghanistan against the Soviets. Made in 2007, the film…
Credit: Everett Collection

Tom Hanks plays Democratic Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson, who facilitated the CIA's covert efforts in Afghanistan against the Soviets. Made in 2007, the film foreshadows the eventual blowback of the U.S. support of the mujahideen. —K.S.

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Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)

George Clooney, David Strathairn, ... | Neither Hollywood nor history has been kind to ol' Tail-Gunner Joe, and for good reason. But in his black-and-white drama about journalist Edward R. Murrow,…
Credit: Everett Collection

Neither Hollywood nor history has been kind to Joseph McCarthy, and for good reason. But in his 2005 black-and-white drama about journalist Edward R. Murrow, George Clooney, much like Murrow before him, uses actual footage of ol' Tail Gunner Joe as indictment enough. —K.S.

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W. (2008)

Josh Brolin, W. | The third film by Oliver Stone about an American president, but the only made while that president was still in office, this take on George…
Credit: Everett Collection

The third film by Oliver Stone about an American president but the only one made while that president was still in office, this take on George W. Bush is essentially a farce at heart, Buñuelian and broad. Also included is a parade of famous characters made caricatures, like Thandiwe Newton as Condoleezza Rice, Toby Jones as Karl Rove, Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney, and Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld. —K.S.

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Secret Honor (1984)

Philip Baker Hall | Philip Baker Hall's portrayal of Richard Nixon is both subtle and absurdly over-the-top, not immediately identifiable and spot-on. Refusing to parody the eminently parodiable president,…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

Philip Baker Hall's portrayal of Richard Nixon is both subtle and absurdly over the top, not immediately identifiable yet spot-on. Refusing to parody the eminently parodiable president, Hall and director Robert Altman turn this one-man show into a slow and sad display of self-delusion, self-pity, and self-destruction. —K.S.

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Il Caimano (2006)

Michele Placido | As Italy's boisterous, sex-obsessed Prime Minister, the political success of Silvio Berlusconi is either a sad comedy or a hilarious drama. Nanni Moretti's 2006 film…
Credit: The Kobal Collection

Depending on your point of view, the political success of Silvio Berlusconi — Italy's boisterous, sex-obsessed prime minister — is either a sad comedy or a hilarious drama. Nanni Moretti's 2006 film finds the exact right tone with the meta-story of a director attached to a production about a thinly veiled version of Berlusconi. —K.S.

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Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)

James Whitmore | James Whitmore (a.k.a. Brooks from The Shawshank Redemption ) was nominated for an Academy Award for his soft, almost grandfatherly portrayal of Harry S. Truman,…
Credit: Everett Collection

James Whitmore (a.k.a. Brooks from The Shawshank Redemption) was nominated for an Academy Award for his soft, almost grandfatherly portrayal of President Harry S. Truman, the man who ordered the A-bomb dropped. —K.S.

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Elizabeth (1998)

Elizabeth
Credit: Gramercy Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Cate Blanchett brings Queen Elizabeth I's highly political ascent to the throne to the big screen in 1998's Elizabeth. The Oscar-winning film follows the 25-year-old Brit from prisoner in the Tower of London all the way to the highest throne in the land, while also navigating royal marriages, Parliament, and diplomatic relations. —Madeline Boardman

 

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Nixon (1995)

Nixon
Credit: Everett Collection

A political scandal far juicier than any screenwriter could pen, the fall of President Richard Nixon is highlighted in Oliver Stone's 1995 film Nixon. Anthony Hopkins stars as the infamous politician, looking back on the steps of the Watergate crisis as even more drama unfolds in Nixon's personal life. Adding another layer to the massive scandal, Nixon picked up four Oscar nods for its interpretation. —M.B.

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The King's Speech (2010)

The King’s Speech
Credit: Laurie Sparham/The Weinstein Company

Colin Firth picked up a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of King George VI in The King's Speech. Come for Firth's gold-worthy acting chops, stay for the powerful depiction of the king's personal struggles with speaking and a country on the brink of war. —M.B.

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Frost/Nixon (2008)

Frost/Nixon
Credit: Ralph Nelson/Universal Pictures

The relationship between a reporter and a president in delicate standing is examined in 2008's Frost/Nixon. Michael Sheen stars as David Frost, a British journalist who finagles a series of sit-downs with former President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella in an Oscar-nominated performance) following the politician's very public fall from grace. The Ron Howard-directed film sheds new light on what happened behind the scenes and the true fragility of power. —M.B.

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    1 of 20 Lincoln (2012)
    2 of 20 JFK (1991)
    3 of 20 Fair Game (2010)
    4 of 20 The Queen (2006)
    5 of 20 Milk (2008)
    6 of 20 Gangs of New York (2002)
    7 of 20 Il Divo (2008)
    8 of 20 Marie (1985)
    9 of 20 All the President's Men (1976)
    10 of 20 Primary Colors (1998)
    11 of 20 Charlie Wilson's War (2007)
    12 of 20 Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
    13 of 20 W. (2008)
    14 of 20 Secret Honor (1984)
    15 of 20 Il Caimano (2006)
    16 of 20 Give 'em Hell, Harry! (1975)
    17 of 20 Elizabeth (1998)
    18 of 20 Nixon (1995)
    19 of 20 The King's Speech (2010)
    20 of 20 Frost/Nixon (2008)

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