The Post (2018) – Film Review
There are some times when you walk into a movie, and you know exactly what to expect, and yet, you’re still blown away, despite all that.
Steven Spielberg—whom looks to have a pretty handsome slate, this coming year—doesn’t disappoint with The Post. A film both political and personal, and never a more pertinent time in which to be released.
The characters are what make this film what it is. Based on actual events from the 1970s, when a load of classified government papers on the trainwreck that was the American campaign in Vietnam were stolen, distributed to, and published by various newspapers. Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are phenomenal; each plays a character on two drastically-different sides of this new development—one all-for “sticking it to The Man”, the other staunchly against, for her own family’s future and that of her newspaper. When certain other circumstances come to light—when it’s not just the paper that’s at stake, but the integrity of the First Amendment and all future freedoms of speech and press—battle lines are drawn in the sand. This is the story of the men and women who took a stand against a corrupt Administration, as the Founding Fathers intended, if their freedoms were ever threatened.
I’d like to dedicate an entire paragraph to Streep’s performance…
Taking place in the ‘70s, certain politics of the day reveal themselves to, perhaps, the less-educated or the oblivious audience member; women were not treated with the same respect as men, even if they were running what would equate today to be a multi-billion-dollar newspaper company. Despite not being totally cut-out for the job, though, Kay Graham’s strong-headedness and perseverance in the face of adversity saw the Washington Post through its darkest hour. Not only did Graham have to contend with the political powers-that-be, but also the still sternly-patriarchal ones. This is as much a feminist movie as it is a piece of political history. Streep’s portrayal of Graham—an “old money” type, thrust in over her head into a world of government cover-ups and lying to the Union—is remarkable, and not at all ham-fisted or preachy. She’s the type, in the context of this film, whom takes what happens to her and roles with it. At first not wanting to tarnish her family’s sterling reputation with past Presidents—even though those same men were the ones involved in the infancy of the aforementioned corruption and cover-ups—or doom her descendants to a life of destitution, with the insistence of her red, white, and blue-blooded executive editor, Ben Bradlee (Hanks), she takes a stance, however remote, against what was wrong with the times. This is enough to rally more support to her side, and we see the effect this has on the younger generation of women, whose eyes were on her as a pioneer for effecting real change for the future. Some beautiful scenes stand out to me, where Graham is in-focus amongst all the male colleagues at her paper, when she walks past a photograph of her forebears as a big decision weighs on her conscience, or walking proudly—though seemingly forgotten by the rest of history—amongst a crowd of her younger, female followers, who would go on to fight in her name.
I was never taught any of this in school. I knew about Watergate, but that’s as deep as I knew the corruption went with Nixon. Always figuring the American campaign in Vietnam to be an idiotic cluster, watching this movie as my only source of knowledge on the subject was…eye-opening. And familiar. As I said, this film couldn’t be released at a more pertinent time in our Country’s history. I’ll say no more…
Spielberg is still Spielberg; all this makes me excited for Ready Player One, later this spring. Layered conversation—like in Jaws and other films by him—beautifully-done long-takes, and character monologues make this seem more like a filmed stage-play than anything made for the big screen. The tone and tension of the times are heavy here, as well; as I said earlier, it’s not just a time of political strife, but a battle of the sexes, as well. The women in here really come through, though, and it’s all succinctly-stated by Sarah Paulson (12 Years a Slave, American Horror Story) in a scene close to the climax of the film. The struggle that women faced back then—and still face, today—made real for the men close to them by the strife they, too, were facing. It was a war fought for all of us.
During some of the tenser scenes, I could really feel my heartrate spiking. This is cinema at its best. When one has a physical reaction to something intangible, moreover, a simple piece of visual stimulus, it’s a sure-fire sign that it’s done well. The theatre atmosphere is the place to see this film, too; surrounded by folks who actually lived through that era—my mother, included (whom loved the film, as well)—our reactions were pooled, shared, as it would’ve been watching the events unfold on TV or in the papers, back then. The whole country, swayed and swept by these historical circumstances, unfolding in real-time. I can only imagine… Lots of tear-jerk moments and feelings of real patriotism as these people literally put their personal and professional lives on the line for the truths they, in their heart of hearts, believe to be self-evident. It’s…inspiring—empowering, even.
Lots of other big stars (whose filmographies I won’t mention, to save space) are involved here, too: Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, David Cross, and Rick Holmes.
Brimming with the culture of the time that immerses the audience in the strife, The Post captures and encapsulates everything that make Spielberg, Hanks, and Streep the cinematic icons they are. Excellent, period-accurate costume design, carefully-crafted and brilliant dialogue, and all with a patriotic message, to boot, this film surprised me—which is saying a lot, for something from one of the masters.
Final ‘Risk Assessment: *****/.
LINK: “The Post – Trailer #1” on IMDb
