''Marie'' (also known as ''Marie: A True Story'') is a 1985 American biographical film starring

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Britis ...

as Marie Ragghianti, former head of the Tennessee Board of Pardons and Paroles, who was removed from office in 1977 after refusing to release prisoners on whose behalf bribes had been paid to aides to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ray Blanton Leonard Ray Blanton (April 10, 1930 – November 22, 1996)Fred Rolater"Leonard Ray Blanton" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture'', 2009. Retrieved: December 31, 2012.scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

. The film was based on the book ''Marie: A True Story'' by

Peter Maas Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

. The film was directed by

Roger Donaldson Roger Lindsey Donaldson (born 15 November 1945) is an Australian-born List of New Zealand film makers, New Zealand film director, producer and writer whose films include the 1981 relationship drama ''Smash Palace'', and a run of titles shot in ...

, with a screenplay by

John Briley Richard John Briley (June 25, 1925 – December 14, 2019) was an American writer best known for screenplays of biographical films. He won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 55th Academy Awards for ''Gandhi'' (1982). As well as film ...

, best known as the screenwriter of ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

''. It also starred Jeff Daniels,

Keith Szarabajka Keith Szarabajka (; ; born December 2, 1952) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Mickey Kostmayer on '' The Equalizer'', Daniel Holtz on ''Angel'', Gerard Stephens in '' The Dark Knight'' and Adam Engell in '' Argo''. ...

, Morgan Freeman, Fred Thompson,

Lisa Banes Lisa Lou Banes (July 9, 1955 – June 14, 2021) was an American actress known for more than 80 film and television roles, as well as stage appearances on Broadway and elsewhere. Banes won a 1981 Theatre World Award for her performance as Aliso ...

John Cullum John Cullum (born circa 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Mu ...

Graham Beckel Graham Stuart Beckel (born December 22, 1949) is an American character actor. He is known for his guest appearances on television but has had roles in several major films as well. He is known for his roles as Franklin Ford in the drama film '' Th ...

, and

Macon McCalman Willis Macon McCalman (December 30, 1932 – November 29, 2005) was an American television, stage and big screen movie actor. Acting career Nicknamed "Sonny", McCalman helped form the Front Street Theatre in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. ...

Plot

It's the mid 1970s. Marie Ragghianti left an abusive marriage and moved back home with her mother Virginia in Tennessee to eke out a better life for herself and her three young children. She waited tables, while also completing the degree requirements at Vanderbilt to obtain a B.A. in English and Psychology. She is unapologetic in asking a college acquaintance, Eddie Sisk, for a job, when he is appointed legal counsel for the just-elected governor Ray Blanton. In what he considers a win-win situation, Eddie offers Marie a job as the Extradition Officer for the state, which she accepts. From there, Marie quickly moves up the chain of command, first becoming the liaison to the Governor on Parole Board recommendations - the role which is meant to be a two way street, where there is an understood quid pro quo in recommendations from the Board to the Governor, and from the Governor back to the Board - then becoming the Parole Board Chief. While working in these jobs, Marie becomes more and more uncomfortable in her working relationship with Eddie, and the Governor, who seems to be increasingly wanting parole for inmates who have no grounds to be paroled, and even worse, wanting full pardons for inmates who have no grounds to be pardoned. As Marie becomes more and more vocally opposed to what the Governor and Eddie want, she will learn how far they will go to silence and/or discredit her. In return, the Governor and Eddie will learn that Marie will not take what is happening to her sitting down, especially as she believes she has done nothing wrong in carrying out the responsibilities of any of her state duties.

Cast

as Marie Ragghianti * Jeff Daniels as Eddie Sisk * Morgan Freeman as Charles Traughber *

as Toni Greer *

as Kevin McCormack *

Trey Wilson Donald Yearnsley "Trey" Wilson III (January 21, 1948 – January 16, 1989) was an American character actor known for playing rural, authoritarian-type characters, most notably in comedies such as '' Raising Arizona'' and ''Bull Durham''. Career ...

as FBI Agent * Fred Thompson as Fred Thompson * Don Hood as Governor Ray Blanton

Critical reception

Most reviewers praised Spacek's performance.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', said Spacek "...evolves effortlessly from a battered young wife to a self-possessed official, and gives yet another guileless, radiant performance of unusual immediacy." Several reviewers praised the performance of Fred Thompson, who was known primarily as a peripheral figure in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

probe of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the administration of President Richard Nixon from 1972 to 1974 that led to Nixon's resignation. The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's contin ...

. Thompson was Ragghianti's attorney during the actual trial and played himself in the film.

References

External links

* * *
Review
by Roger Ebert
Review
in ''

'' 1980s biographical films 1985 crime films 1985 films Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Roger Donaldson Films scored by Francis Lai Films set in Tennessee Films with screenplays by John Briley Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1980s English-language films American biographical films American films based on actual events American crime films Films about corruption in the United States 1980s American films {{Bio-film-stub