Review of The Post (2017) by Tcurran2 — 12 Jan 2018

Steven Spielberg's latest historical drama details the story of the publishing of the Pentagon Papers. The connections to today's embattled political times will not be lost on its audience (A paranoid president launching attacks on the free press.

which era am I talking about again?). Spielberg's camera work can spice up any script, and luckily it is a competent one written by Josh Singer and Liz Hannah, the former being responsible for the final seasons of The West Wing, and Spotlight (2015), the best picture winner at the Academy Awards that also concerned intrepid reporters uncovering a large story.

It is a shame though, that The Post lacks the sort of subtlety and restraint that made Spotlight the success that it was during awards season. The Post insists on not leaving its viewers behind, and draws out the melodrama, especially in the final act, to its detriment.

That is not to say that the film is not successful in many areas, however. Spielberg manages to make nearly every scene visually interesting with his free flowing camera work, and elicits a powerhouse performance from Meryl Streep who plays the owner of the Washington Post, Kay Graham, and a respectable one from Tom Hanks, who plays Ben Bradlee, the Editor in Chief of Graham's paper.

The gender politics in this film do not take a backseat to the political/legal drama, which is a welcome aspect to the film. 2017 was the year of Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, which helped shine light on the toxic sexism that has run Hollywood and other industries for far too long.