The Post (dir. Steven Spielberg)

The president is mad. He stands, detached and unhinged in his oval office on the phone berating his chief-of-staffs and cabinet members about the freedom with which the press are printing government secrets. But it’s 1971, and we’re talking about Richard Nixon. There’s a reason why seasoned popcorn director Steven Spielberg rallied Hollywood royalty Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks for his new film about the publishing of the Pentagon Papers, as it’s uncanny resonance with modern day politics in the Trump era seems to say something on a grander scale about the level in which we accept government corruption. In only six months, Spielberg gathered writers Josh Singer (Spotlight) and Liz Hannah (Guidance) to mock up a script, filmed and edited this shamefully relevant story about the meaning of the first amendment, feminism and most importantly bureaucratic malfeasance to make a statement - and it’s one which as enthralling and impressive as it’s revolutionary.

We begin with our whistleblower and veteran Daniel Ellsberg (played here by The American’s co-star Matthew Rhys) - he sits on a government plane tapping violently away at his typewriter. Our opening sequence in the Vietnam jungle shows local American men under attack from Vietnam insurgents - a small fraction of the bloodshed that’s about to come. Before he finishes his sentence, he’s summoned to speak with defense secretary Bob McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) about to nature of American involvement in Vietnam; he’s asked with all the importance bestowed upon a Army general - “Are things getting better or worse over there”; his response, “Things are pretty much the same”. But he knows more - Ellsberg knows that McNamara and Johnson, amongst others have been lying to the American public about the true genesis of the war and the American’s chances at winning it for years. He’s armed with over 4,000 pages of government secrets - one’s which will surely cause a stir and signal an appropriate change in Washington, but he can’t publish on his own.

Katherine Graham (Meryl Streep), who recently inherited the Washington Post, at this time a small and independent newspaper owner, perches upon her chair in her boardroom whilst investors and other men snarl in a universal derision. It’s been 8 years since her husband’s suicide, which inconveniently for some, left her with holding the mantle for the newspaper. Something big is coming for her tabloid, she is on the brink of making it public and needs to turn her little newspaper into something bigger - something that will turn the tide for her deceased husbands lasting legacy. It’s clear though, as supporting performances from the likes of the brilliant Bradley Whitford and Tracy Letts, that her sex is playing a huge part in the boards recalcitrant approach to her chairmanship. But they are in for a surprise - she’s stoic, she’s taciturn, and though she appears like a deer in the headlights when tasked with the big decisions about a position she was forced into - she’s got the answers.

Her top aide is Ben Bradley (Tom Hanks) - her infamous newspaper editor who towers upon fellow workers Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. Though Bradley and Graham regularly locks horns due to his allegiance to politicians and her nature as a socialite. They are close friends and they both agree that they need a big story - they need real news. It doesn’t help that the President Nixon has bared them from reporting on his daughter’s wedding, and as they are trailing far behind from institutions such as the New York Times, a fresh and contemporary story is a must.

When a hippy-dressed young woman walks into the Washington Post office armed with a shoe box - at first, her gate and her stride, and her counter-culture mentality appear to suggest something more maligned with terrorism. But she is in fact part of the resistance. Her shoe box holds the pentagon papers, which she hands to a random journalist at the Washington post. He quickly forwards the documents onto top brass Odenkirk and Hanks et al. Unfortunately for them though, it's not a easy feat to decipher the documents, as the top-secret stamps on the bottom of the pages have been cut off as well as the pages - it will take an army of writers and newspaper workers to collate the salient information into a structured article.

But they are not the first to publish; the New York Times have the story first which in turn warrants the commander in chief to find a judge who issues an injunction to protect his secrets. The famous tricky-dick who famously said in a televised interview that “When the president breaks the law, it’s not illegal” powers the full extent of his presidency to bar people from knowing his misdeeds, all under the protective cloth of “espionage act”. What must they do now? How can the constitution flourish if the government is muzzling the press? A classic tale of first amendment vs government security becomes the basis of the rest of the drama, they must decide whether or not to publish the papers in spite of harsh government sanctions.

Boasting twenty Oscar nominations, and three wins, Streep has nothing left to prove. She’s a powerhouse performer, who delivers exciting and refreshing performances at every turn - here, she is no different. Only last year she brought subtlety and nuance to the role of Florence Foster Jenkins, here as Katherine Graham, she poses all the restraint and poignancy of a woman at odds with herself. It’s a complicated role, rich with self-doubt and neurotic tendencies, but resilient and assured towards the end. The same can be said for Hanks, a man with whom a movie set is more relatable to him than anywhere else, acts as if he has something to prove - his attention to detail and his comic timing have always been commendable, and as Washington Post editor Ben Bradley - he makes the smaller details of his character look so effortless in his portrayal.

As experienced as a director as Spielberg is, the fluidity with which the narrative progresses and the freshness with which the drama plays out speaks more of a younger director recently bursting onto the Hollywood scene. HIs allegiance to straightforward and no-nonsense approach to history has always been his greatest strength, as has his ability to thrill and delight audiences with his popcorn pleasers. Spielberg has made a vivacious and enthralling account of one of America’s darkest time periods which blends themes and motifs from something as recent as Spotlight mixed with the sheer delight and adventure of his Indiana Jones’ movies. He was always the right man for the job - it’s a Spielberg film if there every was one. Long live the revolution.

Rating 5/5