Vantage Point (2008)

Vantage Point is a 2008 American political action thriller film directed by Pete Travis; it was adapted from a screenplay written by Barry L. Levy. The story focuses on an assassination attempt on the President of the United States, as seen from the various vantage points of different characters. Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, and Sigourney Weaver star in principal roles. The film is often compared, unfavorably, to Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, which also employed storytelling through multiple perspectives. Rashomon used the multiple perspectives to question the possibility of truth, in a process called the Rashomon effect; in contrast, Vantage Point recounts a series of events which are re-enacted from several different perspectives and viewpoints in order to reveal a truthful account of what happened. Vantage Point also explores kidnapping, assassination and terrorism.

The motion picture was co-produced by Relativity Media, Original Film, and Art In Motion. It was commercially distributed by Columbia Pictures theatrically, and by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in home media format. The film project began principal photography in Mexico City on June 18, 2006. Executive producers for the film included Callum Greene, Tania Landau, and Lynwood Spinks. On February 26, 2008, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by the Varèse Sarabande label. The film score was composed by musician Atli Örvarsson.

Following its premiere on February 22, 2008, Vantage Point grossed $72,266,306 in domestic ticket receipts. The film was screened at 3,163 theaters during its widest release nationwide in the United States. It earned an additional $78,895,185 in business through international release to top out at a combined $151,161,491 in gross revenue. The film was technically considered a strong financial success due to its $40 million budget costs. Preceding its theatrical run though, the film was met with generally mixed to negative critical reviews. The widescreen DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc editions of the film featuring the director's audio commentary and interviews with the cast and crew, were both released in the United States on July 8, 2008.

Synopsis

U.S. President Henry Ashton (Hurt) attends a political summit in Salamanca, Spain, to promote an international treaty. Displayed with eight differing viewpoints, an assassination attempt on the president occurs, relayed in a time span of 23 minutes. Each time the events unfold from the beginning, a new vantage point is shown revealing additional details, which ultimately completes the story of what actually took place during the incident.

Actors