Director Steven Spielberg has evolved into a reliable director when it comes to historically-based movies. Despite some melodrama, ‘The Post’ is very entertaining due to a talented ensemble cast including Hollywood icons Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep. The film reminds us how important the freedom of press is in our Constitution as a watchdog over government. How can a story involving old-school typewriters, rotary phones and Linotypes (typesetting machines once used by newspapers) be so thrilling? It’s simple. Spielberg knows how to surround himself with top-notch professionals who get the job done from cinematographer Janusz Kaminski to costume designer Ann Roth. ‘The Post’ is an enjoyable ride that pays tribute to the glory days of newspapers that kept an eye on the excesses of power.
The year is 1971 and the Washington Post desperately wants to break a big news story. When we first meet editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), his biggest worry is that the White House banned one of his reporters from attending the wedding of President Nixon’s daughter Tricia. The day they display wedding photos on their front page is the same day that their rival The New York Times publishes classified documents known as The Pentagon Papers detailing how the government knew that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and lied to the public for decades in order to keep it going. It might not seem like big news today but at the time former Pentagon analyst, Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) leaked the documents, the Nixon Administration was so enraged that the Times was hit with an injunction against publishing anything else about the documents.
This is where the story kicks into high gear. Since it is only the Times that is prevented from publishing any further stories about The Pentagon Papers, it opens an opportunity for The Washington Post to continue with the big story. Publisher Katherine Graham (Streep) took over the newspaper after the suicide of her husband. It’s not a good time for The Post to upset the government and risk being held in contempt of court since they are about to make a public stock offering of the paper. Streep delivers one of her best performances in years. The film is really about her character’s arc from passive socialite to astute publisher. Graham had a lot to lose if she made the wrong decisions. The Post’s fortunes and her family’s legacy were at stake. She had to deal with a male-dominated boardroom that wanted to avoid controversy and risk losing millions. It’s brilliant how Streep handles her finely calibrated performance during a time women were nonexistent in the boardroom.
The supporting cast is equally good particularly Bob Odenkirk as Ben Bagdikan who tracks down Ellsberg and gets a copy of The Pentagon Papers. It’s funny when he fumbles for spare change at a pay phone and sits next to the boxed documents on a first-class plane flight. Spielberg ratchets up the suspense when The Post defies a court order to publish the classified report. Mrs. Graham was personal friends with Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood), defense secretary for the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. When she realized how the false reports put thousands of young soldiers at risk, she felt that it was her paper’s responsibility to disclose the truth about the Vietnam War. Hanks gives another solid performance as the scrappy editor that wants to do the right thing and publish the truth behind this dirty war. Both Hanks and Streep make it a feel good story about a newspaper taking a risk for the pubic good.
‘The Post’ is a thrilling drama that reminds us why it is so important to have a free press. The question that the film ponders is if the media doesn’t hold the powers that be accountable, who will? Once again, Spielberg masterfully crafts a highly entertaining historical drama with a terrific ensemble cast.
