The Independent

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2:15

The Independent

R

2022

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

66%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

It's the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history. America is poised to elect either its first female president (Ann Dowd) or its first viable independent candidate (John Cena). Reporting history as it's made, an idealistic young journalist (Jodie Turner-Smith) teams up with her idol, legendary journalist Nick Booker (Brian Cox), to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands.

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Cox is fabulously acerbic fun and, as he proved on Succession, a master swearer, while Turner-Smith is effective enough in an underwritten role. But so much of the film is derivative, and a melodramatic cancer subplot doesn’t help.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 27, 2023

Full Review

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

If nothing else, this solid, by-numbers political thriller serves as a star-making vehicle for British actor Jodie Turner-Smith, who is nothing short of mesmerising as dogged cub reporter Elisha James.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 26, 2023

Full Review

Cath Clarke

Guardian

Insipid and unsatisfying, and completely lacks any kind of authentic insider knowledge of Machiavellian political skullduggery.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 21, 2023

Full Review

Victoria Luxford

City AM

The Independent feels like being stuck in a restaurant with someone who has read too many tweets and not enough columns. Content with platitudes where insight was needed, Rice wastes a terrific cast who are worthy of something much more thoughtful.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 8, 2023

Full Review

Kevin Harley

Radio Times

The cast is engaging, with Turner-Smith making for a dogged lead, and Cox captivates as the veteran pundit making one last stand for a beleaguered press.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 16, 2023

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

Whole movie is kind of a shrug, even if you still turn the pages to see what happens.

Nov 10, 2022

Full Review

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Kathryn A

Wouldn’t have minded the predictable story line, lack of depth or generic writing. But the lead actress made it almost unwatchable for me. She had this bizarre mask-like, expressionless demeanor throughout the entire movie. It looked like she had too much Botox to be able to move her forehead and eyes or something? So that even in charged scenes it made me think of an android trying to mimic human emotion. She has presence onscreen and should be a pleasure to watch but just doesn’t seem to have the acting chops (or facial mobility) to anchor a movie. At least not this one.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/08/24

Full Review

Donald S

Casting made two mistakes, Cox phoned it in and Cena can't act in a drama. Great story line. Watchable and enjoyable. Strong lead character carries movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/13/24

Full Review

Thoki and Nathan M

So bad, the acting is really bad

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/24

Full Review

Wendy A

Cliche after cliche.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

EPC1948 R

Turned off after 39 minutes.. Bored silly

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

David C

Not quite All The President's Men and a schmaltzy ending but an enjoyable escape from the plethora of CGI, Rom-com, and horror movies. Annoyingly every time an obstacle arose a solution fell neatly into the heroine's lap (no spoilers). Not a great film but not as bad as some of the scores

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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EDIT REVIEW

Amy Rice

Director

Jodie Turner-Smith

Elisha "Eli" James

Brian Cox

Nicholas Booker

Luke Kirby

Lucas Nicoll

Ann Dowd

Patricia Turnbull

John Cena

Nate Sterling

The Independent: Official Clip - John Cena's Confession

2:08

The Independent: Official Clip - Stephen Lang's Newsroom

1:41

The Independent: Official Clip - Bryan Cox Yells at Jodie Turner-Smith

2:30

The Independent: Official Clip - Is John Cena Full of S***?

2:24

The Independent: Official Clip - John Cena's Presidential Speech

2:30

The Independent: Official Clip - Brian Cox's News Advice

2:22

The Independent: Official Clip - What The F*** Do We Do Now?

1:49

The Independent: Official Clip - John Cena For President!

1:53

The Independent: Official Clip - Go F*** Yourself!

1:30

The Independent: Official Clip - Am I Your Source Or Your Boyfriend?

2:28

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The Independent: Trailer 1

2:15

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Synopsis

It's the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history. America is poised to elect either its first female president (Ann Dowd) or its first viable independent candidate (John Cena). Reporting history as it's made, an idealistic young journalist (Jodie Turner-Smith) teams up with her idol, legendary journalist Nick Booker (Brian Cox), to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands.

Director: Amy Rice
Producer: Sam Bisbee, Ryan H. Cunningham, Theodora Dunlap, Caddy Vanasirikul, Evan Parter
Screenwriter: Evan Parter
Production Co: The Exchange, Anonymous Content, Park Pictures, Next Productions, Universal Films
Rating: R (Language Throughout)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 2, 2022
Runtime: 1h 48m

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