The Post – 2017
This was one of those movies that had a formula for success. You start with Steven Spielberg in the director’s chair, and you throw in two of Hollywood’s biggest names, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Then you include a fantastic score by John Williams, and a story based on true events that was relevant in the time in which it took place, and today, both at the same time. There was no question that this would be a really good film. And darn if it didn’t all work like a charm.
The Post was entertaining and informative on a number of levels. It was about the leak of the Pentagon Papers, and the scandal that followed. It was told from the perspective of the newspaper, The Washington Post. Streep played the character of Katharine Graham, the owner and publisher of the struggling newspaper. After her father had died and left the paper to her husband, she had inherited it after his untimely death. In other words, she was never meant to have the job. And on top of that, it was in the early 70s, so she was a woman trying to succeed in a male dominated profession.
Hanks played Ben Bradlee, Graham’s editor-in-chief. In order to help the newspaper turn a profit, Graham is going through the risky process of turning the business into a public entity. The plot follows Bradlee as he becomes aware of a major story being pursued by the rival publication, the New York Times. The Pentagon papers were a seven thousand page document which detailed the history of the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, including, among other things, the fact that LBJ and his administration lied to both the public and Congress. According to the film, ten percent of the reason we stayed in Vietnam was to help the South Vietnamese, twenty percent was to stop Communism, and seventy percent was to avoid the humiliation of losing a war we knew we couldn’t win. If that’s true, it hits pretty close to home. My own father was a survivor of Vietnam.
But I digress… The Nixon Administration attempts tries to block the Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers, using a court injunction. Bradlee and his staff, including Bob Odenkirk playing Ben Bagdikien, work their investigative magic and eventually get ahold of the Papers. From there, Graham must make the tough decision to publish or not publish, fully knowing that the injunction against the Times would surely apply to the Post as well. She is not only risking the financial future of her family business against the impending stock opening, but she risks being arrested for treason and put in jail, herself.
The rest is history. We know what happened. To make a long story short, the Post published the papers and went to the Supreme Court along with the Times. The court ruled in favor of the press, six to three. The film ended on a brief scene that took place a year after that, as security guard Frank Wills discovers a break-in in progress at the Watergate Hotel. This movie would actually dove-tail nicely with the 1976 film, All the President’s Men.
The film was perfectly cast. Streep was marvelous, as always. This was her 21st nomination for Best Actress, and I really think she deserved it. She always has a way of taking any character she plays, and making it perfectly believable and natural. I sometimes like to joke about the conversation that must take place every year at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. “What was Streep in this year?” “I don’t know. Just put her name on the list.” And Hanks is, likewise, a real acting powerhouse, able to become a role so completely, you’d swear he was born to play his role. He’s turned in so many great performances, I’m surprised he has only been nominated for Best Actor five times, winning twice. He has an every-man look along with a seriousness that is captivating. The rest of the wonderful supporting cast included some pretty recognizable names like Sarah Paulson, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
While doing my research, I found that some critics didn’t like the fact that the role of the New York Times, its reporters, and their involvement in the release of the Pentagon Papers, was downplayed by the movie. But I have to disagree with those critics. Spielberg was telling the story from the perspective of the Washington Post, its reporters, and Katherine Graham, not the New York Times. If both perspectives had been covered, it would have been a four hour movie. The New York Times wasn’t neglected, it just wasn’t the focus of the story, and I see nothing wrong with that. Aside from that issue of perspective, the film seems to have been pretty accurate in its portrayal of the historical events.
But historical accuracy alone does not make a movie good. It was, of course, a combination of separate elements. It was the smart script by Liz Hannah and John Singer. It was the expert directing of Stephen Spielberg. It was the wonderful acting by Streep, Hanks, and the rest of its seasoned cast. It was the engaging score by the master, John Williams. It was the costumes, the cinematography, the editing, the sound design, and more, all being of the highest quality. Honestly, I would expect nothing less from all those big Hollywood names, and I have to say, this movie does not disappoint!