Review of Trumbo (2015) by August C — 12 Feb 2017

Trumbo.

4 Out of 5 Stars.

In the late nineteen forties McCarthyism spread across the US, scores of people were blacklisted from working under the assumption of belief in communism. Dalton Trumbo one of Hollywoodâ(TM)s top paid writers came under such scrutiny for his political views and even went to jail for it.

Cranston as Trumbo really knocks it out of the park with an incredibly strong performance along with other highlights from David Elliot as John Wayne and Dean Oâ(TM)Gorman as a young Kirk Douglas. Helen Mirren serves her purpose as the antagonistic gossip columnist Hedda Hopper and Diane Lane is also as solid as Trumbo's supportive wife.

The whole film feels like a bitter sweet love note to Hollywood of yesteryear, which is intriguing because its certainly one of the most shameful moments in Hollywood history but its also a time of perseverance and the prevalence of free thought. Eventually Trumbo ends up jailed for a year and then after becomed blacklisted and unable to write for the scree. He devises an idea to keep working and starts writing under a diffrent name. Turmbo begins writing a slew of schlock films to just survive during this time he writes "The Brave One" that wins and Oscar. Rumours eventually spread that Trumbo may be behind the film but the big studio bosses turn a blind eye due to his creative talent and connections allowing Trumbo to eventually win another Oscar for a "little" film called Spartacus.

I could nerd out all day about some of the stuff covered in this movie, the history, the trivia and the scandals. I think though, even removing that personal bias from the equation when reviewing this, it's still stands as a solid film that is relevant today in a time of our own political unrest.