Review of Trumbo (2015) by Liam H — 06 Aug 2017

Dalton Trumbo was a massively popular screenwriter in Hollywood, known for films such as Roman Holiday, Papillon and Spartacus. In 1950 Trumbo was jailed and subsequently blacklisted in Hollywood due to his affiliation with the Communist party. However, he continued to work in secret under various pseudonyms and even won Academy awards for work that was penned under these names. Trumbo eventually revealed himself and showed both Hollywood and the US government how ridiculous this witch hunt was.

Bryan Cranston was on top form and this is surely his best role to date. Helen Mirren was also superb as the villain of the piece, gossip columnist Hedda Hopper who whispered in all of the right ears in Hollywood at the time to serve her own agenda. Well worth seeing for anyone who has an interest in the history of Hollywood, McCarthyism or just a really decent film.