The Post (2017)

☆ ☆ ☆

The Post (2017) – S. Spielberg

It would be damned near impossible not to think of All the President’s Men (1976) when watching Spielberg’s The Post (also about investigative journalism at the Washington DC paper) and, of course, Spielberg’s film pales in comparison to that great classic.  Tom Hanks might be working his best Jason Robards impression – or perhaps both were channelling the real Ben Bradlee, Editor of the Post – but can’t really get any traction in the part.  Instead, the film belongs to Meryl Streep’s Katherine (Kay) Graham, the Publisher of the Post, and her struggles as a woman in a man’s world.  Although we do get some of her backstory, the script largely focuses on the events surrounding the publication of the “Pentagon Papers” which were a top secret review of the history of American involvement in Vietnam commissioned by Defense Secretary Robert MacNamara and a no-holds-barred indictment of the policy (and lying) of all the presidents from Truman to Nixon.  The New York Times was first to publish (after receiving a leak from Daniel Ellsberg) but the Nixon White House sued to stop them.  The pivotal moment here focuses on whether Graham will allow Bradlee to publish stories drawn from the leaked Papers in defiance of a court order not to.  Of course, she did – no spoiler intended – and Spielberg’s attempts to build suspense around this known outcome are destined to fail (despite John Williams’ urgent score).  But Spielberg was really hunting for bigger fish and the rousing moment when freedom of the press triumphs over governmental interference is clearly designed to castigate Donald Trump and his war on journalists and journalism.  Perhaps some need to hear this cry for freedom (an important message to be sure) – but they probably wouldn’t be watching this film anyway.  In the end, the film is average at best (despite the strong performance from Streep, as usual), taking too long to get to the point, drifting in places, offering too many faceless bit characters, and just plain not being All the President’s Men.