All the King's Men

Observed and commented on by the journalist Jack Burden (Jude Law), the idealistic town treasurer Willie Stark (Sean Penn) rises to become governor of Louisiana at the end of the 1940s with astonishing speed, transforming himself from a puppet of the old elite into a populist lone fighter for the interests of the people. Stark is a charismatic orator who sees himself as a true tribune of the people and - once he has reached his goal - is not squeamish in his choice of means. True to the motto "you can make something good out of something bad", he unscrupulously exploits the weaknesses of his opponents and friends alike, as Jack, who has now become the governor's right-hand man, finds out for himself. Stark uses the connections of his friend, who comes from the old Southern aristocracy, to put pressure on dangerous opponents, including Jack's foster father Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins). When he tries to involve Jack's oldest friends, the children of the deceased former Governor Stanton, in his power games, Jack begins to grow skeptical. After all, he still loves the beautiful Anne (Kate Winslet), while he has lost contact with her brother Adam (Mark Ruffalo), an idealistic doctor. But Stark won't let personal ties stand in the way of maintaining his power - a power that his opponents are doing everything they can to deny him.