Review: The Post

The Post (2017) - Steven Spielberg

       Every other movie that comes out these days loves to tout that it's "Based on a True Story," especially when it comes to these awards-driven December films starring big-name actors and big-name directors. And hey, real life has had some pretty crazy stories, so it makes sense to mine our real-life human experiences to find drama, conflict, humor, and empathy. But sometimes I feel like it's a nervous tick of the filmmakers and producers, like the idea that this is worth your time has to be driven into your brains in the most blunt way possible: It's real! This really happened! Isn't that so cool?! The biggest problem with this kind of narrative endeavor is it can leave the audience removed from the experience in trying to suss out what is fact and what is flourish. Movies and real life? They're really different. Nothing ever happens all that excitingly in real life, so when movies showcase scenes of people researching or doing equations on a window (always a window, ALWAYS a window) with chase music playing in the back, it usually mostly serves to only remove me from the actual story. Movies like The Post (while still really well made and well acted and well blah blah blah) beg the question of "how much do we keep it true to real life and how much do we want to make it more like a movie?" They definitely decided closer to the latter, at times to the detriment of the overall experience. But it was still Streep and Hanks and Stuhlbarg and Odenkirk and David Cross (Mr. Show!) and it was an extremely timely message of the importance of journalistic integrity standing up to an evil Republican regime, so, yeah, it was still pretty good.

       The Post tells the true life story of a government study about the Vietnam war that was leaked in 1971, and the legal and publishing battle that followed when Nixon's government tried to shut down the New York Times (and soon after The Washington Post) from printing anymore of the leaked report. Is it a crime against national security, or is it the people's right to understand exactly what the government is doing and saying behind closed doors? Obviously, if you know anything about the current state of anything, this movie is remarkably topical for our country today. And even when it does it kind of schmaltzily (read: Spielberg), its message of the importance of free print, that the media exists to aid the governed and the governing, was legitimately moving. The free press IS important, you guys! Spielberg reminded us of something very important! Also, let's face it, the acting caliber alone in this movie is enough to make it palatable for two hours. Streep and Hanks could basically fart for a hundred and twenty minutes and I'd still see it.

       Another of the movie's strongest points (and once again once that is so timely for this awards season you'd almost think they rushed this out to theatres on purpose?!) was Kaye Graham's (Streep) constant undermining simply for being a woman. The paper was her father's and when he died he gave the reins to her late husband who committed suicide, thrusting the position of power on her, a position she never expected and one that all the male white-hairs on the board of the paper are certainly not ready to accept. Streep's performance is one of nervousness and formality but with an unchecked reserve of strength and determination no matter how much the men around her try to beat her down. Her mannerisms are cautious and understated, and she truly sells her character's apparent nervousness but also her huge reserve of intelligence and ability.

       My biggest complaint with this movie is that it's so intent on making sure you know you're watching a movie. And hell, it's Spielberg directing so the movie looks effortlessly glossy and perfectly staged and extremely expensive, so it's not like that's overall a terrible thing, but it just kept poking at me in the back of my head. Case and point? The first scene of the movie starts with a black title card that reads: Vietnam. 1966. And then guess what music starts playing? If you chuckled and sarcastically said, "What? CCR?" then goddamnit you're right! Oh my GOD. I love CCR, alright? But if I ever see one more fucking movie taking place in Vietnam while "Fortunate Son" plays I am going to straight stand up in my theatre, dookie in my hand, and throw it at the screen. THERE WERE OTHER SONGS DURING THE VIETNAM WAR. Why does every filmmaker in America think we won't realize what era we're in if "Born on the fuckin' Bayou" isn't playing?

       The other issue is the never-ending dramatic score that amps up every scene to 11, regardless if someone is stealing government documents or ordering a ham sandwich. Once again, I know this is a movie, and movies are supposed to be, ya know, exciting, but you know what's not exciting? Watching investigative reporting happen. It's mundane, involves a lot of waiting and a lot of farting through dead leads and meaningless paperwork. But that doesn't stop The Post from making me feel like a Russian spy was about to bust out of the newest box of classified documents and shoot everyone with cyanide darts before making a daring escape with a rip-chord through the window. It felt so overwrought at times it completely removed me form the actual story unfolding on-screen. All I could think was, "Wow they sure are trying their hardest to make me give a shit about this." But the thing is, I already did care about it. It's an important story and a relevant topic. Those things don't automatically have to equal shock and anxiety. The drama from the story and Graham's difficult decisions should have been enough to make the movie compelling, but it's almost like Spielberg didn't trust his audiences enough, so instead he had Iranian soldiers chasing a commercial plane down a runway (Argo reference what-whaaat).

       But even with all that in mind, this is still a really great-looking film with technical expertise and performances so good it almost seems like they're not trying (I'm not convinced they really are. Hanks and Streep make it seem quite effortless). I'd have liked to see it told a bit more straightforward without flourish and thrills, but I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much when the movie is championing the rights and necessity of an unbiased press that is unafraid of a possibly totalitarian Republican regime. Huh, why did that sentence send feelings of utter despair down my spine? Maybe it's the stupid fake media.

Grade: 7 out of 10 ACTINGS.