Primary Colors (1998) on Netflix
Henry Burton, whose grandfather was a civil rights leader, joins Jack Stanton's presidential bid. The Southern governor and his circle of advisers take the campaign to New Hampshire.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.7/1031,695 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes81%
Trailer
Plot summary
This work is the barely fictionalized account of candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 via the character Southern Governor Jack Stanton. Joe Klein joined Newsweek as a political reporter and columnist during the 1992 US Presidential race, and followed then candidate Bill Clinton on the road. As such, Klein dutifully conveys the youthful exuberance for a new candidate, along with the sense of awe at his determination, drive, and intelligence. All along, he also displays the shocking lack of personal morals of a "natural" candidate for the office. Further, he shows the inner deal-making that everyone connected with the campaign makes to achieve the vision they started with, no matter how ugly the cheating, talented candidate gets on his road to the election. Klein tells the story from the 1st person perspective of a sophomorish campaign manager, Henry Burton, that just happens to be a grandson of a black civil rights leader. They join the Southern Governor at a talk given on adult education, in which Gov. Stanton cries as he tells the students how they were braver than his uncle--a World War II veteran that earned the Medal of Honor, but went home and never took a job because he was too embarrassed to tell anyone he was illiterate. We next find out this story is not true!
Cast
- Rebecca Walkeras March
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Primary Colors (1998)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Tom Hanks expressed interest in the project but was busy working on Saving Private Ryan and executive-producing From the Earth to the Moon for HBO, so he recommended that Nichols cast someone else.
- Mike Nichols was criticized for cutting an interracial love scene between Henry Burton, played by Adrian Lester, and Susan from the final version of the film; he responded that he had removed it because of unfavorable reactions from a preview audience.
- Director Mike Nichols paid more than $1 million for the screen rights to Primary Colors, Joe Klein's 1996 novel, which had initially been published anonymously.
- Primary Colors reached cinemas close to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, which generated further controversy over its depiction of a Clinton-like character.
