THE POST

THE POST

Film Review by FIORE

How do you create a film about a subject no one cares about, and still make it worthwhile?  Those in the Millennial and X Generations, who all believe the world began with their birth, care nothing about the government scandals of the 1960’s.  Indeed, government scandals of today, such as sexual harassment charges, collusion with terrorists, covering up a murder spree in Benghazi, selling nuclear material to Russia, et.al. make the scandals of the past seem mundane.  So, to answer the question posed, you can make a film dealing with a topic no one cares about worthwhile, by utilizing the best cast and crew possible.  This is what Steven Spielberg does with THE POST.

While THE POST boasts box office headliners Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, the true star of the film is Michael Kahn.  Kahn is one of the best, if not the best cutter in Tinseltown.  He takes THE POST and entwines it like a macabre spiderweb.  The intricacies of his editing are superior to the purloining of the Pentagon Papers.  Kahn’s teammates in this game are John Williams as scorer, Ann Roth as costume designer and Janusz Kaminski as cinematographer.  Like I said, use the best.

Make no mistake why THE POST was made and released at this time.  The media, by and large, have been revealed as advocates for progressive ideologies, rather than reporters of news.  Newspaper sales are in decline, and the very existence of the medium is currently in peril.  THE POST attempts to restore lost magnificence, not only to dinosaur publications, but also to attempt to resurrect the crucified perception of journalists.

For those illiterate of history, Daniel Ellsberg, played by Matthew Rhys, pilfered top secret government papers in an attempt to start a revolution against the Vietnam War.  The papers detailed massive corruption spanning four presidencies, but most contained in the John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson years.  Those who served in the war know it was a proverbial golden goose for Johnson, who profited millions off the war effort.  Ellsberg leaks the papers to the New York Times, and when the Nixon Administration seeks an injunction against their publishing, the Washington Post runs with the ball.

At the time, the Post was considered a local paper, and was in dire financial straits.  Owner Katharine Graham (Streep) is a socialite who arranges parties and decorates rooms and wants no part of the newspaper business; yet she is forced into it by the untimely death of her husband.  She relies heavily on her editor Ben Bradlee (Hanks), but does not share his enthusiasm for pushing the envelope, nor his deep-seated hatred of President Nixon.  She despises even more her chief financial operator who talks to her with distain.  She sides with Bradlee, to spite the banker, and for this, is heralded in THE POST as a champion of women.  There is even a ludicrous scene with Streep leaving the courtroom and throngs of groveling women awing her as slaves did Lincoln.  No such scene happened in reality.

The Pentagon Papers were an embarrassment to Democrats and liberals.  It is not too surprising therefore, that before THE POST reaches its mid-point, the villain shifts from Kennedy-Johnson to Nixon.  It is blatant anti-Republican propaganda and writers Liz Hannah and Josh Singer should not have been so overt in their bias.

With so much going against it, lack of interest and historical distortion, what makes THE POST worth watching?  Again, the film though problematic, is assembled beautifully.  If you watch it as fiction, and not historical, it is quite enjoyable.