for this movie to make an election in one state riveting, is saying a lot.The performances were excellent, particularly by Kevin Spacey. The dialog and performances were so natural, it was almost like a documentary.Great job by all!

characters they portray, a fine balance of talent and respect. Special note, however, must be paid to Laura Dern's awe-inspiring role as the aloof, artificial Secretary of State, Katherine Harris. Despite makeup which makes prostitutes jealous, her mannerisms and uncanny slanted poise cause incredulous disbelief that such a wacky imitation could be enacted. All the cast, however, is likewise surrealistically convincing.The hard working, late hours, and soul-sucking reality of working in a campaign office, often a suite rented out of a strip shopping mall with temporary desks and phone lines cheaply laid in for only a few months' time, is evident and pervasive. Such atmospheres lend the movie a realistic feel of grassroots-level work. One is likely to develop a profound respect for the idealism and vigor or ego of such volunteers with such spartan environments.Music is not even necessary as the chaotic, meaningless buzz of a campaign office or the silent seriousness of a limo ride are soundtracks in and of themselves. The seriousness of the situation does not let the viewer go for the entire movie's arc, from the movie's opening seconds when an elderly lady's seemingly innocent action will cause screaming suspended disbelief in all viewers alike. The tension continues for over an hour more, frustrating and terrifying viewers until an ending whose frustration compares with few other feelings. Even typically dry court readings gain an impossible level of drama, tension, and emotional disbelief to the point of tears as the movie progresses through the increasingly unbelievable tale. The dirty tactics are unsurprising, given recent politics, but to witness the beginnings of the such era in retrospective is humbling. The animosity of the foes is tempered with a thin grasp on reality and humanity, summoned by powers eluding most of us common lay men and women.The film is so accurate and nearly documentary which is suitable for those of all political persuasions. The far more important point is the preservation of the Union and our ability to pass power peacefully and civilly. Affairs even weightier than party affiliation are at stake. The movie is trying on the heart and mind as it begs us to question how insane the electoral system is, a view with which those of all political persuasions may likely agree. Nonetheless, the system somehow survived to live another day, a day that will again return.

in it, getting exciting for the Gore legal victories, & then would remember, duh, they lost, remember! Kevin Spacey is a standout as Ron Klain, who put his heart and soul in to the fight and didn't want to give up, even at the end. Denis Leary was great as Michael Whouley, in his natural kind of role: sarcastic, caustic, funny. Laura Dern was amazing as Katherine Harris. That woman must be a total nut job in real life. She basically singlehandedly corrupted the democratic process in the state of FL. Tom Wilkinson, who I almost didn't recognize from The Full Monty because of his different accent, was excellent as James Baker. I give this a movie a 10. It kept me enthralled about a subject that I didn't think I would care enough about, & the actor's performances were top notch.

that their side will go to the same lengths as the other guy to win- Recount is not a social commentary on voter fraud- it is a behind the scenes look at the recount teams for Gore and Bush and how they strategized and plotted to WIN- That does not mean Recount seeks to establish who WON the election- only that there were two camps who wanted to, which we already knew before the vote was so ridiculously close. And I don't see how the film could have done a better job showing us this-

isn't a documentary, so don't expect to come away with any amount of wisdom, but perhaps a bit of enlightenment as to the pure ugliness of the situation.

Bob Balaban's character said, that the Gore campaign was trying to cheat Bush out of a clear early victory. If I'd worked on Bush's campaign, I'd probably have felt the same way, so kudos to the filmmakers for what I think was a humane, honest portrayal of everyone involved. Tom Wilkinson is GREAT as James Baker, even if it seemed a little hard for this Brit to do a credible Texas twang. Wow. What an actor. The filmmakers could have resorted to satirical caricature of the Republicans. I was pleased to see they did this with only one person: Katherine Harris. And, frankly, she deserved it.To all reviewers offended by the portrayal of Katherine Harris: Consider that this woman knowingly sought the disenfranchisement of 20,000 legal voters. Anyone willing to resort to anything this low is worse than a "bimbo" see mark-4401's review . It's almost kinder to have portrayed her as a suggestible idiot. Otherwise, we would have had to assume she was a complete ogre for doing what she did.To Frank from New Jersey who said Bush won in the end, it's been 8 years, and we need to "let it go" : Spare me. I knew there would be people like you towing that tired line. There's a good reason they're making this movie 8 years later: You also said that the election was about two "good men" fighting for the presidency "tooth and nail": Can you really look at what Bush has done since 2000 and say he's a "good man"? 70% of people in this country can see now that he was the wrong guy for the job. The reason they're making this movie now is clearly a commentary on the maddening fact that this verbally challenged, corrupt, middle-aged frat boy, who may have done more damage to this country than any president in our history, didn't even get into office cleanly. Let it go? Thanks, but I don't think so.One of the best scenes yes, I know it was biased was the one where Pastor Whiting, one of the voters wrongfully turned away from the polls, was watching Bush's victory speech on TV. This scene summed it up for me: The voters who never got to vote were the real victims in this f-d up election, THEY were the ones cheated, no matter how you feel about George W Bush, Al Gore, or anyone portrayed in this movie.Thanks to Aragorn-7 from LA for being open-minded. I agree with you, this movie didn't portray one party as good and the other as evil, it portrayed them as both believing they had the "moral high ground." Spot on. This movie was interested in CHARACTERS, not good and bad guys. Which is how all political movies, not to say all movies, should be. No one can claim this movie was self-righteously angry, even if it had a clear bias.PS – To pamba19 from Georgia: Maybe if you'd kept watching, you'd have found out the movie dealt with the question you raised about military ballots. The spin on this issue was the Republicans', not the Democrats'. The movie portrayed the irony of this event very compellingly it was one of my favorite parts , and, even though it's corny, I loved the line, "I think Joe Lieberman just entered the 2004 primary." One more reason for me to dislike Lieberman… They really used this part of the movie to slam Lieberman, not Republicans. Kudos to the filmmakers for that, too.And thanks to everyone except pamba19 for actually watching the movie before they wrote their reviews.

overtly taking a side.I don't know how Jay Roach got involved in directing this project, but he redeemed himself for the horrific "Austin Powers in Goldmember".Watch it.

Laura Dern, casts a permanent stain on the legitimacy of the Bush presidency.The fact that the details of this movie were well known did not detract one bit from its enjoyment. It was compelling and exciting and the performances of stars like Kevin Spacey, Tom Wilkinson, and Dern made you forget that you knew the ending.

lessons can be taken from the Florida story? Pretty much the story, and the film, acts as a referendum on how things can get so bleeped , on each party side- democrats not strong enough in the fight at crucial beats, republicans acting like bullies- and the only hope is that it never gets this wretched again.Whatever thoughts on the issues one will have, it's a worthwhile TV movie based just on the cast alone. Director Jay Roach, usually responsible for silly comedies like Austin Powers and Meet the Parents, tackles the drama with a firm hand if not the sturdiest camera- hand held of course on his large group of thespians. Kevin Spacey hasn't been this good in years, and Leary is a welcome presence as a Gore campaign member. Also very noteworthy are small parts for John Hurt, Ed Begley Jr, Bruce McGill. But best of all are Laura Dern in a harrowingly funny turn as dumb-bell Katherine Harris and Tom Wilkinson as tough lawyer James Baker, who comes off as icy as one might expect playing a loyal cadre of the Bush family. They make the movie compulsively watchable, even as the details of the case- the dimple chads, the discrimination, the BS protester problem in Miami-Dade, and ultimately the ruling of the supreme court- make one very sick about the madness unraveling.