The Front Runner and Stan & Ollie reviewed. Plus, the answers to this year’s MovieGuide Christmas Quiz

★★★★

Dir: Jason Reitman

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Vera Farmiga

15A 114m

America’s political landscape is dotted with the names of candidates who could have made it all the way to the White House; if only…In the case of possible Democratic presidential candidate Gary Hart, that sentence reads in full, if only he hadn’t met Donna Rice. Senator Hart, brilliantly played by Hugh Jackman in Jason Reitman’s compelling new drama, was hotly tipped for the Oval Office in 1988 until a tabloid newspaper began questioning his friendship with the former actress. Despite the support of his wife (Farmiga) and the guile of his campaign manager (JK Simmons), Hart was forced to leave the Democratic candidacy to Michael Dukakis, who would be trounced at the ballot-box by George HW Bush. Reitman’s film, based on Matt Bai’s novel, All The Truth is Out, posits the theory that Hart’s indiscretion marked a sea change in the relationship between US politicians and the US press. The blind eyes that had been turned to the exploits of JFK and LBJ, etc., were no longer being turned. The indiscretions of the current incumbent are never far from the surface, either. While The Front Runner is a fastpaced, smartly-written ensemble drama, Jackman is a standout in the lead role, and he is surely on his way to his second Oscar nod.