The film begins with a scene of the 1920 presidential election, in which Harvard educated lawyer, New York assemblyman and assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a rousing speech mentioning his cousin Teddy. Roosevelt is the vice presidential candidate on the ticket with James Cox. They are overwhelmingly defeated by Republican Warren Harding but the seeds are planted for Roosevelt's rise to greatness. In the beginning, he is portrayed as rather arrogant looked upon as a lightweight by opponents. His wife Eleanor discovers evidence of an affair and it is only the intervention of Roosevelt's domineering mother that prevents a divorce, however Eleanor is never able to forgive him and they only have a marriage of convenience. Roosevelt's friend and political advisor Louis Howe is determined to make him the President of the United States. However, Roosevelt is crippled by polio and forced to accept the possibility that he may never walk again. Throughout the ordeal he and Eleanor are able to bond and Roosevelt becomes more compassionate. He goes to Warm Springs for treatment and discovers the joy of being able to stand again in the heated pool. The film ends with Roosevelt attending the nominating convention of Al Smith in 1928.
Cast
Actress Jane Alexander, who plays FDR's mother Sara Delano Roosevelt, also played Eleanor Roosevelt in the acclaimed 1976 telefilmEleanor and Franklin and its 1977 sequel . Many of the bit part actors in the film are actually physically challenged, though Branagh and several other of the principal actors are not. The withered appearance of Branagh's legs was achieved through the use of CGI.
Production
The film was produced by HBO Films and directed by Joseph Sargent. The majority of the film was made at Warm Springs, Georgia and its surrounding locations. The producers strove to make sure that many of the physical details were as authentic as possible. For example, Kenneth Branagh, as Roosevelt, is seen driving the very same specially-equipped automobile that FDR was taught to drive at Warm Springs. The cottage that Roosevelt stays in during the film is one of the cottages that the real FDR stayed in. And the swimming pool in which the patients swim in is the actual therapeutic swimming pool at Warm Springs, refurbished specifically for the film.
Reception
The film received near-unanimous praise by the critics, and won five Primetime Emmy Awards out of sixteen nominations, including Outstanding Made for Television Movie, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special , Outstanding Art Direction for a Miniseries or Movie and Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or Movie. Joseph Sargent, who was also Emmy-nominated for his direction, did not win; however, he was nominated and won the Directors Guild of America Award. Screenwriter Margaret Nagle won the Writers Guild of America Award for her script. The film was also nominated for three Golden Globe Awards, but did not receive any.
Historical basis
Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio in 1921, but his symptoms are more consistent with Guillain–Barré syndrome - an autoimmune neuropathy which his doctors failed to consider as a diagnostic possibility.
