“The Independent” - Movie Review

Story posted November 9, 2022 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Carly Dell’Oso

With the election season upon us, “The Independent” is now available on Peacock to show viewers a presidential race like no other.

Every presidential election is history in the making, but for this particular election that takes place in the movie, “The Independent '', the election is a bit more monumental than normal. The question at hand: Will the next president be Patricia Turnbull, the first ever female president, or Nate Sterling, the first ever Independent Party president?

With tensions high, and the election race underway, journalist Elisha James has a lead. A low income school in West Virginia had to switch to four day school weeks because they did not have the necessary funding to stay open regular hours. Conspiracies are circling throughout newsrooms, but Elisha decides to follow this story, as she believes it is directly connected to one of the presidential candidates campaigns.

Nicholas Booker, an older but experienced journalist, takes Elisha under his wing and guides her through this major story. With Elisha’s intellect, determination and personability, she is able to blow this story wide open, and completely change the course of one of the most monumental elections in history.

In this film, the casting and acting were above average. John Cena plays the Independent candidate role who also happens to be a former Olympian. With Cena’s image fit for the public eye, he plays the perfect role of a candidate who gains popularity based on appearance rather than intellect.

Brian Cox also plays the part of Nick Booker exceptionally well. He is an older man best described as having a grandfather persona with an edge. Brian Cox plays the role of the experienced and wise mentor to Elisha extremely well.

Additionally, Jodie Turner-Smith plays the strong female lead as Elisha James. Throughout the film, her tenacious spirit allows her to develop the story that she is passionate about and make her professional mark in the world of journalism.

The plotline of this movie unfolded in an unexpected yet effortless way. As Elisha James continues to follow her leads and sources, everything seems to fall into place perfectly.

Throughout the movie, her relationship with her boyfriend, Lucas Nicoli, is tested as he doesn’t agree with the story that she is chasing. However, it worked out perfectly that the last piece of proof that Elisha needed to complete her story, was provided by Lucas. This was a bit unrealistic.

Elisha searched the city and the internet to their cores and thought of the craziest ways to obtain the last piece to her puzzle. Yet long behold, her boyfriend held in his hands the last piece she needed to publish her groundbreaking story.

The story was published, the course of the election was changed, Elisha James made a name for herself in the world of journalism and The United States of America made history with a president no one had ever seen before in office.

This movie was above average and definitely something that could be enjoyed by a wide array of viewers. The solid acting and casting along with a captivating plotline keeps viewers engaged for the entirety of the film.

“The Independent” is different from other presidential candidacy movies, and portrays a very real possibility of a future presidential race in America.

Rating: 4/5

Carly Dell’Oso is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email ced5690@psu.edu.