The Independent

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2:15

The Independent

R

2022

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

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Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

35%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

100+ 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

The Times (UK)

02/27/2023

2/5

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.

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Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

02/26/2023

3/5

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.

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Cath Clarke

Guardian

02/21/2023

2/5

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

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Victoria Luxford

City AM

03/08/2023

2/5

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.

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Kevin Harley

Radio Times

02/16/2023

3/4

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.

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Cory Woodroof

615 Film

11/10/2022

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

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Stephen C

@bob25009 07/12/2025

Success in 1 hour and 48 minutes.

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Kathryn A

@RT06644350 08/08/2024

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.

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Donald S

@RT29085154 03/13/2024

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.

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EPC1948 R

@RT02869875 02/25/2023

Turned off after 39 minutes.. Bored silly

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David C

@Davec26 01/20/2023

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

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Benjamin C

@Darkmatter12. 11/29/2022

How Brian cox decided to do this is beyond me. Its really bad....nada mas

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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 - 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 - Stephen Lang's Newsroom

1:41

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 - Go F*** Yourself!

1:30

The Independent: Official Clip - John Cena For President!

1:53

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

2:28

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The Independent: Trailer 1

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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: Next Productions, Anonymous Content, The Exchange, Park Pictures, 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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