Writing to Expose Secrets and Lies

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in "The Post"
Photo Credit: Imdb.com

Over the years, we’ve had terrific films dealing with how the press handles breaking stories, be it with broadcast journalism in films like “Frost/Nixon” and “Good Night, and Good Luck,” or print journalism with “Spotlight” and “All the President’s Men.”  These movies dive deep into their characters’ missions to bring the truth to light, even if doing so might cause damage to themselves.

Director Steven Spielberg now makes his contribution to journalism cinema with “The Post,” an engaging look at the role that the news played during one of the nation’s toughest periods of national uncertainty.

In the early 1970s, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) releases the “Pentagon Papers” to “The New York Times,” documents that contain details about the Vietnam War that have been covered up for over 20 years.  After the “Times” is barred by a court injunction from publishing any more stories about the documents, Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk), assistant editor of “The Washington Post,” discovers Ellsberg as the source of the leak, who then provides Bagdikian with additional copies of the “Pentagon Papers.”  Soon, Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep), owner of the “Post,” must decide whether or not to publish stories about the documents, knowing that she and her team can face criminal charges from the Nixon administration if they do so.

Meryl Streep delivers a low-key, yet strong and empowering performance as Graham.  As someone who must make a decision that could impact many, Streep displays the carefulness that Graham must utilize when trying to contemplate the future of her newspaper and staff, while also showing Graham’s tremendous resilience as a titan in the media industry who must work as hard as she can to prove herself to her male colleagues.  Through one of the best shots in the movie, which is a shot that zooms in to a close-up of Streep, her character is in her final seconds of making a decision about whether to not to publish the story, and she does a superb job at showing the conflict running through her mind, making us feel every bit of tension as she does.  It’s a testament to her unrivaled strength as an actress that she can do all of that in just a few seconds of time.

While Tom Hanks delivers an adequate performance as the “Post”’s editor-in-chief, Ben Bradlee, you can’t help but think that’s he’s just coasting through in “Tom Hanks” mode.  Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great actor, but he needs material that can get him to do something different, such as what he accomplished in 2013 with “Captain Phillips.”  With Hanks being one of out most-celebrated actors working today, he has the ability to turn out wonderful performances when tackling roles like that, and I’m eager to see him tap into those corners of his talent once again.

Backing up Streep and Hanks is a stellar supporting cast, which includes standout performances from Rhys, Odenkirk, and Bruce Greenwood as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

Although the narrative lacks subtly in some spots, the screenplay by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, the latter of whom co-wrote “Spotlight” with Tom McCarthy, does well in exploring the many facets that went into the exposure of the “Pentagon Papers.”  Besides the core issue with Graham trying to figure out the best course of action for her publication, we’re also given in-depth views of other problems she faces, such as her strained, professional relationship with McNamara, a past tragedy in her family, and her battles with overcoming underestimation.  The narrative spends enough time with each of these plot points and makes us able to feel the weight that Graham is carrying throughout the movie, a weight that she refuses to let bring her down. 

One of the best aspects of the movie is how Spielberg plays up the political-thriller atmospherics of the film.  Between the staff attempting to obtain the documents, going through the legal issues, and trying to publish on time, you’re in suspense for a great deal of the movie, even though you know what’s going to happen, such is the power of Spielberg as a top filmmaker.  Between this and his 2015 historical-thriller, “Bridge of Spies,” Spielberg proves that he can provide terrific suspense in his more-dramatic movies just as well with his classic blockbusters, like “Jurassic Park” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”  He’s able to achieve this by working with composer John Williams, cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, and editors Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar, all of whom are longtime collaborators of Spielberg’s.

While “The Post” doesn’t quite reach the heights of “Spotlight” and “All the President’s Men,” its relevancy to our current political climate makes the film an effective viewing experience, reinvigorating your hope that there will always be those out there who will fight to bring us the truth.  

Final grade: B+