说到剧情,是从林肯遇刺事件开始,但其实探讨的是美国彼时的法律、权利、舆论与公正。林肯遇刺后,军方竭尽全力逮捕了嫌疑犯(真不知道怎么找到这些人的,演绎过程就是在纸上画画,然后就神奇地从各处揪出一个或几个人。。。)其中一个女犯坚持无罪,而在当时举国悲痛恨不得将凶手千刀万剐的大环境下,其想得到公正的辩护都难以成行。这里有一个几分钟的庭上场景,是唯一主张对其公正审判并愿意为其辩护的Senator Johnson对抗庭上所有人,可以作为本片想表达的一点中心思想~(中心思想。。。小学后遗症。。。)
If our founding fathers had desired tyranny to prevail, the president and his War secretary would have been granted such indiscriminate powers, but they drafted a Constitution, with laws against such powers. They did so precisely for times like this.