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Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas find themselves on opposite sides of a military coup in Seven Days in May |
Seven Days in May opens with documentary style footage
of clashing crowds outside the White House (one pushing for peace, the other
for war) and then carefully balances that style with an unsettling sense of
paranoia throughout. People suddenly disappear (once from frame to frame), most
of the action takes place in confined spaces. When characters do head outside,
they constantly seem to be looking over their shoulder, with the camera
watching like a distant observer. The lack of music all adds the eerie feeling
that this could just happen.
And, of course you, feel it could. Because we’ve not lost a
tingling sense of unease at an over-powerful military. It’s a shame therefore
that Seven Days in May doesn’t grip quite as much as it should. I think
a large part of that is because the plot is exposed very early – and when Casey
goes to the authorities with his suspicions, they are instantly acted on. Thrillers
like this often work best with a “one man stands alone” vibe – it’s missing
here, and instead we get the President and the cabinet laboriously
investigating different elements of this conspiracy looking to turn up enough
evidence to prevent the coup before it starts.
The drop in tension could have been counter-balanced if the
film had more successfully explored the conflicts and contradictions in
America. This is after all a country priding itself as being the home of
freedom and democracy – but since George Washington, has had a fondness for
installing military men in a job role pointedly called “Commander-in-Chief”. This
is a film that could have explored how different parts of American society
might admire either an Adlai-Stevenson-style intellectual or a blood-and-guts ‘simple’
soldier. But the film dodges this – and works hard to stress both men act
within what they define as honour and the needs of the country. The film is to
nervous about any suggestion that Scott’s coup could lead to a proto-dictator vetoing
the electorate.
There is also a naivety about the film. A long subplot (not
particularly interesting) features Casey being side-lined into uncovering
evidence of Scott’s long-term affair. Ava Gardner does her best with a largely
thankless part as the woman in question, but there is a touching faith that
evidence of this will be enough to destroy Scott. It’s a faith in the system:
while the public might be shaken slightly in their belief that Scott is like
King Arthur reborn, finding out he’s actually Lancelot is hardly going to
weaken his hold over many of his followers – or his military machine. For a conspiracy film, Seven Days
believes conspiracies are a relatively simple matter to defeat.
What’s best about the film – not surprisingly since it’s
largely a chamber piece – is the strength of the acting. Produced by Douglas
(who generously cast himself in the most thankless role as the decent-but-dull
Casey), a cast of stars was assembled. Lancaster was perhaps the only choice as
the holier-than-thou Scott, arrogant, morally-superior, cold, distant but
capable of inspiring immense loyalty – it’s the perfect role for him and he
plays it to the hilt.
The film’s finest sequence is a late confrontation between
Scott – Lancaster oozing moral superiority and unhidden contempt – and Fredric
March’s intellectual President. March is brilliant, a born negotiator and
compromiser – all the skills you need to be a successful politician – with just
the right edge of irritation, arrogance and pride for you to know that, even if
he is right, he’s no saint. March also gives Lyman an old-school sense of
honour and moral principle that makes him unable to cross lines Scott can leave
behind him, while still be jittery and waspish to colleagues and friends.
Filling out the cast, O’Brien gives a wonderful
(Oscar-nominated) turn as a hard-drinking, good-old-boy Senator who turns out
to have principles of iron and the guts to match. Martin Balsam delivers one of
his patented put-upon functionaries, struggling to keep stress at bay. Macready
is great value as a bombastic cabinet member while Houseman glides above it all
as an Admiral to smart to say anything certain either way.
Acting is eventually what powers Seven Days in May
and if it never becomes the white-knuckle conspiracy thriller or the
insightful political commentary it should be, it just about has enough entertaining
scenes to keep you watching.
I read the book, and saw the movie. At the time of its' release the idea of a coup d'état was bordering on science fiction. Our biggest scare had already happened with the Cuban Missile Crisis, and a seemingly bland response from our Commander in Chief had somehow worked its way out of it. JFK's death was still weighing heavy on us, so a takeover was never seriously addressed.
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