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The paper that brought down one presidency (and maybe another) gets its own movie and it is directed by one of the greats, Steven Spielberg. The Post, starring Meryl Streep as Washington Post owner Kay Graham and Tom Hanks as editor Ben Bradlee, might be dedicated to another era – complete with Creedence Clearwater Revival bringing us back into Vietnam – but the film itself is damn prescient in purpose and command.
Make no mistake about it; The Post is a great reminder – in this era of “FAKE NEWS” just how important a free press is to our nation. We must always be on guard and ready to defend freedom from all sorts of tyranny. Information is power and with it comes the responsibility to be honest with the public.
And that is what Spielberg does with this film; his candid look at the Washington Post’s reporting on the Papers (which is what this film was originally called), a 7,000-page report on Vietnam and our involvement within it between the years of 1945 and 1967. And it is damn effective. Essentially, the top brass knew we couldn’t “win” in Vietnam and yet they continued to send troops over to fight the unwinnable war.
Bradlee and Graham are on opposite ends of the spectrum on the reporting. She, as the first female newspaper publisher in the United States, wants the paper to make money. She needs the investors to be happy. Bradlee, unafraid of jail time, wants the truth printed continuously. And reporting on Nixon’s daughter and her wedding isn’t going to cut it.
The back and forth between the Hanks and Streep is borderline amazing. While Hanks doesn’t have as much as Streep to do in the movie, what he does do with his part is damn effective in getting to the brass tacks of reporting on the news. But it is Streep that steals almost every minute. She’s got a target on her back since she is a woman and the investors aren’t completely sold on her as an inheritor of the newspaper. She is trying to remain afloat in a male-dominated world.
And Streep, in a screenplay written by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, nails her part with grace and strength.
The Post, when it comes to its direction, is measured and dramatic. It is full of great sequences with lots of moving parts. The plus is that it is a history lesson about the responsibility of the press that America – especially fans of Donald Trump – need to hear. The con, with so many familiar faces – Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara to name one – featured in it, is that it IS a history lesson. As a result, this film is very much a picture full of “talking heads” and era-sensitive headlines that some will be lost by.
Lots of dialogue and lots of method goes into the meditation upon plunder and catastrophe and the reporting that follows on highly classified documents. The truth will not be silenced for long. And The Post, co-starring Alison Brie, Sarah Paulson, Carrie Coon, Bon Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, and Zach Woods, is all about reporting the news instead of simply reading it.
The Post proves that democracy, no matter how dark the day becomes, is made stronger when power is put in its proper place. This is one story you are not going to want to miss.
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language and brief war violence.
Runtime: 115 mins
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writer: Liz Hannah, Josh Singer
Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson
Genre: Drama
Tagline: The Post.
Memorable Movie Quote: "The way they lied… those days have to be over."
Theatrical Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Official Site: www.facebook.com/ThePostOfficial/
Release Date: December 22, 2017
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: Steven Spielberg directs Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks in The Post, a thrilling drama about the unlikely partnership between The Washington Post's Katharine Graham (Streep), the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, and editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), as they race to catch up with The New York Times to expose a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned three decades and four U.S. Presidents. The two must overcome their differences as they risk their careers - and their very freedom - to help bring long-buried truths to light..
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