Review – Citizen Cohn

James Woods does an admirable job playing one of the most hateful people in the history of American politics. The plot posits that, while the monstrous mouthpiece of McCarthyism was in the hospital dying of AIDS, he received hallucinatory visits from old nemeses ranging from Robert Kennedy to Ethel Rosenberg. The bulk of the film is devoted to flashbacks showing various episodes and aspects of Cohn’s life, including his political ambitions, mob ties, personal problems and sexual orientation. As with many good movies about bad people, it’s often aggravating to watch. But the anti-hero’s eventual and total defeat is almost enough to make you feel sorry for him. Almost. Worth seeing