The Post

Official Australian release date: 11/1/18. Viewed: 21/1/18.

Director: Steven Spielberg

Actors: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Tracy Letts, Brad Whitford

Genre: Drama

Rating: M

  

‘The Post’ is Spielberg & Hanks’ fifth film together, and it’s another good one. Kay Graham (Streep) is the publisher/owner of The Washington Post newspaper, after inheriting it from her late husband in the 1950’s, and Ben Bradlee (Hanks) is the editor, making the day-to-day decisions on what gets published. When the New York Times breaks the US Government cover-up of their failings in the Vietnam war and are silenced by the Supreme Court, the Post seizes the opportunity to publish the leaked documents they have also obtained.           

It’s all very pertinent with Trump’s America and “fake news” and while not exclusively about the press vs the government (there’s no long courtroom scenes), it definitely gets across the freedom of speech angle. It also shows what Kay went through – a widow trying to uphold her husband & father’s ideals, whilst being maligned as a woman in a man’s world – as well as the nostalgia of proper reporting, journalism and newspaper printing, which will sadly be lost to the world soon.

Great support cast – Bob Odenkirk, Carrie Coon & David Cross as senior reporters, Sarah Paulson as Hanks’ wife, Alison Brie as Streep’s daughter, Bruce Greenwood as the Secretary of Defence, Matthew Rhys as the source, Jesse Plemnos as the lawyer. It’s almost as good as ‘Spotlight’, as far as newspaper films go! Has a very strong beginning and end and it’s a pleasure to watch Hanks and Streep display their acting skills in between.

Overall: Well-made and well-acted true story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.