All the Way

Bryan Cranston reprises his Tony Award-winning role as President Lyndon B. Johnson in this HBO adaptation of the 2012 Broadway play centered on the complicated political negotiations that it took to pass the Civil Rights Act in 1964. The film opens with Johnson taking office—following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy—and then making the Civil Rights Act (introduced by Kennedy's administration) his signature issue when he runs for reelection. This is a portrait of a different political culture, when members of opposing parties treated one another with respect and dealmaking across the aisle was part of the process. For Johnson it was necessary to get Republican support since Democratic congressmen from Southern states (represented here by Frank Langella as Senator Richard Russell, Johnson's mentor) opposed the legislation, fearing that it would cost them political power. Part of the strength of director Jay Roach's All the Way lies in its suggestion that such political costs are justified in the pursuit of social justice. The film earned eight Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Television Movie, Directing, and a well-earned Lead Actor nomination for Cranston, who presents a complex figure in Johnson, a cagey politician who learned how to make deals and apply pressure to pass legislation, while also being a realist—keenly aware of when to compromise and where to draw the line (causing friction here with Martin Luther King, played by Anthony Mackie). Costarring Melissa Leo as Lady Bird, Bradley Whitford as Hubert Humphrey, and Stephen Root as J. Edgar Hoover, this is a fine historical drama. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)