The idea that an extramarital affair could not only upend but swiftly topple a politicians entire career seems so obviously quaint in 2018.

Nevertheless, that scenario is revisited in The Front Runner, writer-director Jason Reitmans film on the ill-fated campaign of 1988 Democratic presidential front-runner Gary Hart (played by Hugh Jackman), opening Tuesday.

Based on Yahoo! News columnist Matt Bais 2014 book, the movie recounts how the married Harts affair with a young woman, Donna Rice, became the overwhelming focus of campaign coverage at the time, marking according to Bai a converging point for political journalism and tabloid fodder.

Harts downfall, were meant to believe, is a push-pin worthy moment on the timeline of How the hell did we get here? Here being whatever political funhouse surrounds us now. In our case: Donald Trump s America, where affairs and personal scandals often dominate news coverage of him but nary affect the mans clutch on power.

The Front Runner kicks off in the spring of 1987, when the then-Colorado senator was leading in early presidential polls as an above-the-fray candidate focused on a campaign of ideas. Frenzied shots and cuts mirror the frenetic pace of the race and establish the movies varying points of view: Hart, his family, his campaign staff and the reporters following every twist and turn.

The film picks up momentum when tabloid photographers catch Hart on a yacht with Miami actress and model Rice (Sara Paxton). The two begin an affair, only to soon find themselves dogged by a team of Miami Herald reporters. The journalists received an anonymous tip that led them to confront Hart in an alleyway adjacent to his Washington home, where Rice was visiting for the weekend.

The story of the affair breaks, sending the campaign into free fall. Spoiler alert: Hart eventually backs out of the race.