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Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
James Rocchi, MSN Movies: Great moral stands don't make for great drama; good intentions aren't good art. Read more
A.O. Scott, New York Times: [A] well-meaning, misbegotten movie. Read more
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: It should be tense and thrilling, full of rich, powerful performances; instead, it'll make you feel like you should be taking notes in preparation for a high-school exam. Read more
David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Redford does a fine, economical job re-creating the horror of the assassination, the dying president barely glimpsed but the bowls of blood carried from his deathbed all too vivid. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: What it most suggests ... is the sort of classroom film that has kept generations of students off the edge of their seats. Read more
Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: If history lessons could always be as compelling as Robert Redford's "The Conspirator," movie theaters might be full of them. Read more
Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Let's just be grateful that boring old Professor Redford only afflicts audiences with his good intentions and social consciousness about twice a decade. Read more
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Robert Redford's depiction of the trial of Mary Surratt is, at heart, sort of a history lesson, a really interesting one. Read more
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: "The Conspirator'' is an important film, on an important subject, that has had the life beaten out of it by Robert Redford, a man who should know better. Read more
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Heavily reminiscent of Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant, but producer-director Robert Redford also notes the parallels between the Surratt case and our current military tribunals for terror suspects. Read more
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Heartbreakingly average, director Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" errs in the way so many films do, especially films about unsung pieces of American history. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: The nightmare of Lincoln's assassination, and its immediate aftermath, is effectively delivered, and Wright, shrouded in black, her face a mask of indomitable sorrow, gives great gravity to what might otherwise have been a waxworks historical reenactment. Read more
Michael Granberry, Dallas Morning News: Robert Redford's riveting Conspirator examines the assassination of Abraham Lincoln by pursuing an unconventional path. Read more
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The Conspirator is a quality drama with a capital Q. We should expect no less from Robert Redford, who takes seriously (at times, earnestly) the duties of director. Read more
Tom Long, Detroit News: The Conspirator fairly drips with nobility, timeliness and class. If only it were a bit more fiery. Read more
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: James McAvoy, as the Civil War veteran who defends Surratt, has an avid presence, but the movie is stiff-jointed and dull. Read more
Christine Champ, Film.com: Atmospheric, illuminating and affecting, The Conspirator captivates like an untold story -- one that you can't believe you've never heard until now, and won't soon forget. Read more
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: The Conspirator is never less than thought-provoking and illuminating. It's an answer to those who moan that they don't make movies like they used to Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: "The Conspirator" is first, last and always a political drama, and, Wright's performance aside, it is the play of events of history that most holds our interest. Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Sitting through this stage-bound, talky, stiffly-acted movie reminded me of having to endure the Hall of Presidents attraction at Walt Disney World. Read more
John Anderson, Newsday: A bracing courtroom drama whose every scene seems wreathed in mist, dust motes and cigar smoke, the better to suggest a nation befogged by grief. Read more
Anthony Lane, New Yorker: It's hard not to like McAvoy, with his glancing nervous energy, but The Conspirator rarely permits him to be anything except likable, and the script smooths out any wrinkles in the figure of Aiken. Read more
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Wright, who has been doing great and largely unrecognized work for years, is terrific as the hard, handsome, difficult defendant, as is James McAvoy as her reluctant defense counsel. Read more
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Redford's fictionalized chronicle of Mary Surratt's 1865 trial is high-minded and slow-moving. Some may chafe at his unsubtle sermonizing, but strong central performances will reward the patient. Read more
Lou Lumenick, New York Post: Working on an obviously limited budget on locations in Savannah, Ga., Redford does a good job of evoking the era with the help of cinematographer Newton Thomas Siegel. Read more
Rex Reed, New York Observer: See it, enjoy a ripping good yarn and learn something. Read more
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: Redford always gets the best out of actors, and his cast - especially Wright, Wood, Huston, and Tom Wilkinson - is exceptional. Read more
Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Fascinating, authentic look at aftermath of Lincoln assassination. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: You have to give credit to Redford, Wright and McAvoy, and the other filmmakers. Not many films this smart can be made. Read more
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: As the film's director, Robert Redford eases with hypnotic skill into this tale of justice in the aftermath of Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Read more
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Redford persuades us, if not to grieve, to understand other people's grief and to look at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln with fresh eyes. Read more
Dana Stevens, Slate: Once you accustom yourself to this film's unhurried rhythm and old-fashioned Hollywood stolidity, The Conspirator is not without its pleasures -- chief among them Robin Wright's quietly fierce performance. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The Conspirator" is a worthy historical reenactment, but not much of a movie. Eight score and seven minutes feels ever so long. Read more
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Instead of entertaining us, director Robert Redford offers us a handsome history lesson that's as dry as a hardtack biscuit. Read more
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Once the ideological cat is out of the bag, the drama is degraded to the level of a historical pageant. Read more
Globe and Mail: This is by no means a great movie, but in telling a gripping and little-known true story with many contemporary resonances it has time(liness) on its side. Read more
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine: This retelling of a crucial, poorly-remembered chapter of American law and war has enough atmosphere, stalwart acting and suspense to appeal to the mass of moviegoers. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Leaves us feeling as empty as a raided tomb. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: There's a stiffness that keeps the story from packing a punch. Still, it's handsomely mounted, and at its best moments has the patina of a Masterpiece Theater production. Read more
Justin Chang, Variety: While the courtroom proceedings compel attention initially, a certain weariness sets in due to the lack of modulation in the discourse, the obviousness of the storytelling and the absence of any real subtext. Read more
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice: Barely worth the extra credit, kids. Read more
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: With her hair darkened and severely pulled back, her face a mask of stony implacability, Wright delivers a simple, unshowy performance that never begs for the audience's sympathy. Read more