The Post: Movie Review
Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep in the same film, you are bound to get a memorable and powerful cinematic experience, but life has thrown in Steven Spielberg in as the director, just for good measure. 'The Post' is a well-paced, entertaining and timely docudrama about a pivotal moment in modern US history - the Pentagon Papers.
These are intense times in the United States under the presidency of Trump and many parallels are being drawn between now and the period of the Nixon presidency. Hollywood is diving into the stories regarding the same with the docudrama about the FBI informant whose cooperation with the press led to the impeachment of Nixon, Mark Felt. Now it revolves around the incident preceding Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, a Department of Defense academic study about USA's war in Vietnam. The papers in question revealed that the US military was well aware for a long time that they would not win the war, but in order to save face, they kept it going for many more years, sacrificing the lives of many promising young men, for no reason other than ego. A truth that transpired through multiple presidencies, hidden from the American Congress and the American people.
According to given information, the Pentagon Papers were leaked by an insider, first to the New York Times. The Washington Post meanwhile was a local paper with no particular reputation for ground-breaking journalism, but with close ties to many Washington power figures in the government, including a few ex-Presidents. The shockwaves caused by the Times' story based on excerpts from the document, in just the first couple of days, was enough to rattle the White House administration to take the paper to court and ban any further news on the same or related topics, arising from the information in the leaked documents. A huge moment in American history as it was the first time a President had stepped over the protective bounds of the first amendment of free speech and freedom of the press. At the same time, The Post and its editorial team, led by Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) managed to get their hands on about 4000 pages from the Pentagon Papers and had barely 10 hours to sift through enough of them to print the next day, an act defying the New York court's ruling against the Times, in order to get the truth to the American public.
The flip side of the story revolves around the woman in charge of The Washington Post at this point in time, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep). Originally started by her father, the paper was first handed over to her husband, but after her partner's suicide, she found herself at the helm of a Washington newspaper. It's rare enough in 2017 to see women in positions of power, but it was even rarer about 40 years ago. With no prior experience in running a business, she was dependent on friends and members of the board of directors for guidance, particularly her close friend and colleague Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts). The film focuses on the pressure on her to act in the best interest of the investors, often finding herself talked at then talked to in power meetings. The narrative highlights how she was often the only woman in a room full of ageing men, the first one to open doors that were till now jammed shut to the female professional.
'The Post' is timely in both it's key story plot topics - women leaders and CEOs and their struggles in a male dominant masochistic environment, and an American President bent on discrediting and silencing the free press. If you look at the bigger picture, these are hot topics prevalent in India as well, though not as open to discussion as a society that is severely more patriarchal then the West. It impresses in how it maintains a perfect balance of narrative pace, mostly fast-paced and slowing down at just the right moments. The supporting cast also delivered a phenomenal performance with key characters such as Bob Odenkirk as Ben Bagdikian and Michael Stuhlbarg as NYT's Abe Rosenthal.
This is another one film that should become part of the curriculum for all those who are pursuing a degree and career in Journalism. The only other titles that come to mind right now are 'Kill the Messenger', 'All the President's Men' and 'Spotlight'. If anyone knows of docudramas or films of a similar calibre around India's political and journalistic history, do let me know in the comments
Back to the film being reviewed, 'The Post' offers quite a visual element as well in terms of the mechanics of the printing presses of the time. Still, it is a title worth watching many times over if you share an interest in the genre or simply for an entertaining experience. I'd rate it 8.5 lemonades out of 10.
These are intense times in the United States under the presidency of Trump and many parallels are being drawn between now and the period of the Nixon presidency. Hollywood is diving into the stories regarding the same with the docudrama about the FBI informant whose cooperation with the press led to the impeachment of Nixon, Mark Felt. Now it revolves around the incident preceding Watergate, the Pentagon Papers, a Department of Defense academic study about USA's war in Vietnam. The papers in question revealed that the US military was well aware for a long time that they would not win the war, but in order to save face, they kept it going for many more years, sacrificing the lives of many promising young men, for no reason other than ego. A truth that transpired through multiple presidencies, hidden from the American Congress and the American people.
According to given information, the Pentagon Papers were leaked by an insider, first to the New York Times. The Washington Post meanwhile was a local paper with no particular reputation for ground-breaking journalism, but with close ties to many Washington power figures in the government, including a few ex-Presidents. The shockwaves caused by the Times' story based on excerpts from the document, in just the first couple of days, was enough to rattle the White House administration to take the paper to court and ban any further news on the same or related topics, arising from the information in the leaked documents. A huge moment in American history as it was the first time a President had stepped over the protective bounds of the first amendment of free speech and freedom of the press. At the same time, The Post and its editorial team, led by Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) managed to get their hands on about 4000 pages from the Pentagon Papers and had barely 10 hours to sift through enough of them to print the next day, an act defying the New York court's ruling against the Times, in order to get the truth to the American public.
The flip side of the story revolves around the woman in charge of The Washington Post at this point in time, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep). Originally started by her father, the paper was first handed over to her husband, but after her partner's suicide, she found herself at the helm of a Washington newspaper. It's rare enough in 2017 to see women in positions of power, but it was even rarer about 40 years ago. With no prior experience in running a business, she was dependent on friends and members of the board of directors for guidance, particularly her close friend and colleague Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts). The film focuses on the pressure on her to act in the best interest of the investors, often finding herself talked at then talked to in power meetings. The narrative highlights how she was often the only woman in a room full of ageing men, the first one to open doors that were till now jammed shut to the female professional.
'The Post' is timely in both it's key story plot topics - women leaders and CEOs and their struggles in a male dominant masochistic environment, and an American President bent on discrediting and silencing the free press. If you look at the bigger picture, these are hot topics prevalent in India as well, though not as open to discussion as a society that is severely more patriarchal then the West. It impresses in how it maintains a perfect balance of narrative pace, mostly fast-paced and slowing down at just the right moments. The supporting cast also delivered a phenomenal performance with key characters such as Bob Odenkirk as Ben Bagdikian and Michael Stuhlbarg as NYT's Abe Rosenthal.
This is another one film that should become part of the curriculum for all those who are pursuing a degree and career in Journalism. The only other titles that come to mind right now are 'Kill the Messenger', 'All the President's Men' and 'Spotlight'. If anyone knows of docudramas or films of a similar calibre around India's political and journalistic history, do let me know in the comments
Back to the film being reviewed, 'The Post' offers quite a visual element as well in terms of the mechanics of the printing presses of the time. Still, it is a title worth watching many times over if you share an interest in the genre or simply for an entertaining experience. I'd rate it 8.5 lemonades out of 10.
Comments
Post a Comment