Starring Ralph Fiennes, John Turturro, Rob Morrow, Paul Scofield, Mira Sorvino, Martin Scorsese, David Paymer, Hank Azaria, Christopher McDonald

(10-Masterpiece)

Sharp, engaging, affecting.

In the 1950s, television was a new sensation, and I Love Lucy was the biggest show on it. Then the handsome, Charles Van Doren (Fiennes), an Ivy League professor from an influential family, hit it big on a quiz show called 21 and made it the most-watched show in America. What happened? It was all a lie. The producers gave him the answers to ensure he never left the show. Soon it was a front-page scandal, and t.v producers were brought to trial like some communist spy. Actor turned director, Robert Redford, captures the drama of all this flawlessly. All the actors and I mean even the ones with limited roles, are perfectly cast, the dialogue is scintillating, and the inevitable (albeit minor in the grand scheme of things) tragedy is incredibly poignant.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(507)