Film Review: 'Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House'

von Clayton Davis · 30.09.2017

With a politically charged climate that Americans are currently in, you'd think Peter Landesman would be able to bottle some that anger and unleash in a furious and captivating piece like the story of "Deep Throat," the man who brought down Richard Nixon. With an unfocused and sloppy execution of facts and emotions, his newest film "Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House" is as empty as is its own title.

The film tells the story of Mark Felt (played by Liam Neeson), who under the name "Deep Throat," helped journalists Bob Woodward and Bob Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal in 1974.

The Sony Pictures Classics release struggles to find its footing early on. Attempting to disguise itself as a political thriller (feels wannabe "In the Line of Fire" and "The Firm" at times), the script jumps all over the place, never giving enough time to understand the time and the players that are at hand. Instead, Landesman makes the political culprits James Bond-esque villains, making their intentions even more evident which feels a bit false.

Landesman has a general good eye for direction and perhaps in the future, as been proven by his other cinematic missteps, he would be better served to direct a script by someone else. Neeson, who attempts to elevate the material but ends up playing Mark Felt as the greyhaired version of Bryan Mills, his iconic character from "Taken."

The film also weaves through the story of Mark Felt and his wife Audrey, played by Diane Lane. A person who had a very tragic end, Audrey's story is not explored nor given the respect it would have deserved. Lane's scenes feel stiff, resulting in Audrey feeling like the "nagging wife," when we're sure that was not the intention of the filmmakers.

With an all-star cast of Hollywood talents that include Josh Lucas, Tony Goldwyn, Michael C. Hall, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Maika Monroe, how can someone botch this up so badly? Well, have everyone do generic stares at each other for 2 hours, while giving them any motivation outside of the scene at hand. If their character is to carry a pile of papers across the room, by God, they will focus wholeheartedly on the task, emoting no feelings or details from the script on why they're doing it.

There's no wrestling with the feelings of the decision that Mark makes to go to the press. With a colorless palette that cinematographer Adam Kimmel chooses to shoot in, the slick production creations of David Crank and Kristie Thompson can just peak through from time to time. If there's a bright spot in the tech team, Daniel Pemberton's score is as pronounced as it was when he delivered in "Steve Jobs."

"Mark Felt" is a failure, through and through. Wishing for a cousin of "All the President's Men" we are given what feels like the adaptation of a John Grisham book he forgot to finish writing (wasn't that "The Chamber?").