Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+
Ambitious, slow-moving, trite political drama.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this intense political drama will probably be of little interest to their kids. Women are sexual objects for men. Some women dance onstage wearing scant clothing and striking provocative poses, while another young woman, romanticized in soft light, appears both naked in a river and undressing for sex with her partner. A politician travels with a bodyguard who carries and shoots a pistol. Two bloody shootings, one of which is a suicide. Characters frequently smoke cigars and cigarettes, and a couple of them are alcoholics.
- Families can talk about the political process. Candidates are often elected based on promises to voters -- what happens after they're elected, when their efforts to fulfill those promises encounter roadblocks like lack of funding or loss of idealism? Do voters really believe that campaign promises will be kept? Should politicians be more accountable to their constituents? What are the strengths and weaknesses of America's political system?
The good stuff
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Positive messages: Politicians, lawmen, and reporters engage in corrupt activities (including graft, blackmail, and exchanges of favors).
What to watch for
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Violence: Characters fight, awkwardly; there's talk of a school fire that kills children (but only the funeral is shown on screen); after a suicide by shooting, there's blood on the wall; two men are shot to death, with blood on the bodies and oozing onto the floor around them.
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Sex: Many images of women in the movie seem based solely on men's fantasies. Dancers on stage reveal cleavage, legs, and bottoms to Willie, who selects each night's sex partner from these semi-private auditions. In repeated flashbacks, Jack watches Anne naked in a river (from the back, in the moonlight) and remembers her undressing for bed, only to be disappointed at his own inaction (all of this is shown from his point of view, and the footage is "romantically" blurry).
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Language: Variation of n-word used by white men; other mild language ("hell").
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Frequent cigarette and cigar smoking; a couple of characters are alcoholics, and they and others drink to the point of drunkenness (including passing out).