"Citizen Cohn" is a dramatization on the life of one of the most contradictory and controversial American characters ever, the infamous attorney Roy Cohn (1927-1986) here played by a furious and excellent James Woods, in one of his best roles ever. Cohn is played in two ways: the hypocrite guy who sentenced to prison or death many innocent people, destroying private lives; and the madman who sees in his deathbed, dying of AIDS, the ghosts of all the people he met and died before him, judging his acts as a public man, denouncing possible Communists.
Frank Pierson's film shows us this: a closeted gay man persecuting other gay men; a Jewish condemning another Jewish; a man enlisted in one political party but who join forces to the other; an idealist in knowing what America needs, blaming invisible enemies and supporting Senator McCarthy's (played by Joe Don Baker) red scare. A multifaceted figure that is very difficult to give a good definition and to each viewer it might vary such definition. Woods great performance goes to show that we must hate this guy but for certain reasons we end up liking him for a few moments (his scene with his mother, so proud of his work while his father doesn't even care because Cohn is damaging lives and reputations).
The movie knows how to present numerous historical and political facts, attached with many good fictional moments and artistic licenses (such as Cohn's dying and seeing visions of McCarthy, Ethel Rosenberg, Bobby Kennedy and so and so). It never gets boring, it never gets highly educational, is very informative without being excessive. As for Roy Cohn presentation as a gay man we only get what we could possibly know about his life in other medias, he was very discreet and the moments are very light, so few to see, nothing so compromising which can be viewed as something disappointing in terms of plot, more could've been done.
Woods is not alone here, he has some outstanding actors along like Lee Grant, Joseph Bologna, Josef Sommer, Joe Grifasi, Pat Hingle, Peter Maloney, Jeffrey Nordling, David Marshall Grant and many others. "Citizen Cohn" is a powerful film, very memorable, an important document for those who have interest in seeing who Cohn was and his part during the HUAC activities. HBO nails it again! 10/10.
Frank Pierson's film shows us this: a closeted gay man persecuting other gay men; a Jewish condemning another Jewish; a man enlisted in one political party but who join forces to the other; an idealist in knowing what America needs, blaming invisible enemies and supporting Senator McCarthy's (played by Joe Don Baker) red scare. A multifaceted figure that is very difficult to give a good definition and to each viewer it might vary such definition. Woods great performance goes to show that we must hate this guy but for certain reasons we end up liking him for a few moments (his scene with his mother, so proud of his work while his father doesn't even care because Cohn is damaging lives and reputations).
The movie knows how to present numerous historical and political facts, attached with many good fictional moments and artistic licenses (such as Cohn's dying and seeing visions of McCarthy, Ethel Rosenberg, Bobby Kennedy and so and so). It never gets boring, it never gets highly educational, is very informative without being excessive. As for Roy Cohn presentation as a gay man we only get what we could possibly know about his life in other medias, he was very discreet and the moments are very light, so few to see, nothing so compromising which can be viewed as something disappointing in terms of plot, more could've been done.
Woods is not alone here, he has some outstanding actors along like Lee Grant, Joseph Bologna, Josef Sommer, Joe Grifasi, Pat Hingle, Peter Maloney, Jeffrey Nordling, David Marshall Grant and many others. "Citizen Cohn" is a powerful film, very memorable, an important document for those who have interest in seeing who Cohn was and his part during the HUAC activities. HBO nails it again! 10/10.