Trumbo : Movie Review
As I begin to write this review, my fingers hover unsure over each key. I may get this right in the first draft or not at all, but I will put it out there, and let you, the reader, decide its worth. I'll be honest to admit I had never heard of Dalton Trumbo till I saw this movie. And now I feel I am unsuitable to review the biopic of not only one of the greatest writers of his time, but of a great man. Already, I know I have strayed from writing a review of a film by confessing my admiration for the man that the film is about, but perhaps I will write more about that another time.
A movie based on a true story about a Hollywood film writer who goes broke(almost) fighting for his principles and for his rights. Sounds like a dull biopic don't it? Well, it ain't. With a casting powerhouse that has Bryan Cranston at the helm, delivering another brilliant performance as the charming and unusual Dalton Trumbo. Turbo got rich writing movies in the 1940's, a big personality to match his ego. He'd write in his bathtub, booze and cigars at the ready, barking at anyone who'd knock on his door when he was working, be it his wife Cleo or any one of his three children.
But the good life came to a grinding halt when he joined the Communist Party. Near the peak of anti-communist sentiments in America, he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, along with nine other screenwriters. He refused to cooperate in this unconstitutional charade, and spent nearly a year in jail. As one of the blacklisted Hollywood 10, Dalton lost his job, home, wealth and those he had thought to be his friends. But a man like Trumbo was not one to give up his fights, and he began to work under various pseudonyms, penning Award winning classics like Roman Holiday and The Brave One but could not take credit for.
Credit to director Jay Roach and the screenplay by John McNamaras for not wallowing in misery. The movie is dotted with great lines and witticism in the amazing voice of Cranston, especially when he takes on the gossiping crone Hedda Hopper(a wicked role played brilliantly by Helen Mirren), and writes cheap entertainers for the King Brothers(the hilarious John Goodman accompanied by Stephen Root). Not to miss a fine performance by one my favourite comedians of recent years Louis CK who plays one of the Hollywood 10 and one of Dalton's closest friends, Arlen Hird. The story of the struggles and victories of this great man is a great one and I urge all to watch this film to know it.
I am an emotional man, so its not that hard to sway me if the movie is well made, but it is not often that I feel swayed and inspired as much as I did by this rendition of the story of a great man who fought for what he believed in, Dalton Trumbo. And to quote one of my favourite of many great bits of dialogue in the film, and there are better ones in there, but this one is my choice pick.
Arlen: "You talk like a radical, but you live, like a rich guy."
Dalton: "Its the perfect combination. The radical may fight with the purity of Jesus, but the rich guy wins with the cunning of satan."
A movie based on a true story about a Hollywood film writer who goes broke(almost) fighting for his principles and for his rights. Sounds like a dull biopic don't it? Well, it ain't. With a casting powerhouse that has Bryan Cranston at the helm, delivering another brilliant performance as the charming and unusual Dalton Trumbo. Turbo got rich writing movies in the 1940's, a big personality to match his ego. He'd write in his bathtub, booze and cigars at the ready, barking at anyone who'd knock on his door when he was working, be it his wife Cleo or any one of his three children.
But the good life came to a grinding halt when he joined the Communist Party. Near the peak of anti-communist sentiments in America, he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947, along with nine other screenwriters. He refused to cooperate in this unconstitutional charade, and spent nearly a year in jail. As one of the blacklisted Hollywood 10, Dalton lost his job, home, wealth and those he had thought to be his friends. But a man like Trumbo was not one to give up his fights, and he began to work under various pseudonyms, penning Award winning classics like Roman Holiday and The Brave One but could not take credit for.
Credit to director Jay Roach and the screenplay by John McNamaras for not wallowing in misery. The movie is dotted with great lines and witticism in the amazing voice of Cranston, especially when he takes on the gossiping crone Hedda Hopper(a wicked role played brilliantly by Helen Mirren), and writes cheap entertainers for the King Brothers(the hilarious John Goodman accompanied by Stephen Root). Not to miss a fine performance by one my favourite comedians of recent years Louis CK who plays one of the Hollywood 10 and one of Dalton's closest friends, Arlen Hird. The story of the struggles and victories of this great man is a great one and I urge all to watch this film to know it.
I am an emotional man, so its not that hard to sway me if the movie is well made, but it is not often that I feel swayed and inspired as much as I did by this rendition of the story of a great man who fought for what he believed in, Dalton Trumbo. And to quote one of my favourite of many great bits of dialogue in the film, and there are better ones in there, but this one is my choice pick.
Arlen: "You talk like a radical, but you live, like a rich guy."
Dalton: "Its the perfect combination. The radical may fight with the purity of Jesus, but the rich guy wins with the cunning of satan."
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