Robert Redford has directed a movie starring James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn, Kevin Kline, Tom Wilkinson, Danny Huston, Stephen Root, Colm Meaney, Toby Kebbell, and Evan Rachel Wood. That should be enough to cause excitement.

The Conspirator tells the story of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the ensuing police action and trial of the conspirators – including Mary Surratt, who became despised by an entire country. She was guilty until proven innocent.

Check out the intense trailer for yourself:

You wanted an official synopsis? How convenient that I one:

Directed by Robert Redford and starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright, THE CONSPIRATOR tells the powerful story of a woman who would do anything to protect her family, and the young man who risked everything to save her. In the wake of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth, and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks.Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John. As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.

Redford is a director who delivers, who draws great performances out of his cast, and picks subject matter that is beyond compelling. This is a story everyone knows without knowing. Lincoln. Booth. Ford’s Theater. Hell, even I’ve stood over the bed where Lincoln died, and I don’t know the details of what really happened during the aftermath.

This looks absolutely fantastic. It hits theaters April 15, 2011.

Also, yes, that was Justin Long and Alexis Bledel that you caught a glimpse of in the trailer. Their presence seems strange considering the rest of the cast, but maybe it’s one of those opportunities to surprise an audience with a performance.

What did you think?

Source: Yahooooooo!