NPR interview with Robert Redford about his new movie The Conspirator.
“…If I had any hope for the film, it’s not to change any body’s mind or to make such an impact that it’s going to turn into some kind of policy… It’s just simply to maybe make people think about something”
Redford goes on to say:
“Had Stanton only been seen as the villain who did some horrible things — including seeing a woman hung by a military trial that should have been a civic trial — that would have been too much like a mustache-twirling villain from the old days,” Redford says. “I feel the complexity of this country is best shown if you have two different points of view, arguing it out.”
Redford says that complexity and perspective is what ultimately drives his filmmaking, especially when it comes to American stories.
“I remember the slogan when I was a kid … ‘It doesn’t matter whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game that matters,’ ” he says. “Well, I found that was a lie. There’s another side to this country that sits underneath the story we’re being told. So I guess that led me to want to make these films, and I probably always will.”