Election (1999)

Alexander Payne has been mentioned several times before (just confirming how good a director he is, naturally) and his second film, a high school dramedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick is a fine example of how you can see the early promise from a young director. Election was Payne’s second full-length feature after debut Citizen Ruth (1996) and it tells the tale of Witherspoon’s Tracy, who runs (initially) unopposed for student government president. Broderick’s teacher, Jim McAllister is irritated by Tracy, who played a part in getting one of his fellow teachers (and best friend) sacked. He sabotages Tracy’s run by persuading one of her fellow students to run against her, a move that sets off a string of events that massively affect both their lives, both in and out of school. Based on Tom Perrotta’s novel of the same name, the film landed Payne and Jim Taylor an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, and the script absolutely warrants it, it’s sharp, funny, and toes the line of comedy and drama superbly. Election potentially gets a career best performance from Matthew Broderick, the films’ voice-overs allow you to get into the mindset of its two leads, and Broderick sells the character terrifically. Reese Witherspoon is almost always fantastic, and her performance in Election is no different, and it’s an effective two hander between her and Broderick. 7.7/10