Day
171 The
Post [2017]
Screenplay Liz Hannah & Josh Singer
Director Steven Spielberg
Cinematography Janusz Kamiński
Music John
Williams
Leads Meryl
Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bruce Greenwood,
Matthew Rhys, Alison Brie, Jesse Plemons, David Cross, Zach Woods
Production 20th Century Fox, Dreamworks
Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, Participant Media, Pascal Pictures, Star
Thrower Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, Amblin Partners
IMDb 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes 87%
Was
there ever a more powerful duo in a film? Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep would make
most sane people’s top five best actor lists. Believe it or not it was the
first time that these Hollywood stalwarts have appeared alongside each other
and under the guidance of the great Steven Spielberg no less. Was the pressure
ever really going to get to them? Sometimes big budget, big cast films do not
perform as expected. Armageddon and The Tourist spring to mind.
However, Hanks and Streep excel in the story of The Washington Post’s rise from a
local D.C. news offering to respected national paper. It became such after the
publication of the Pentagon Papers, which were an examination of the
US-Vietnam war over around 30 years. The reports reflected an entirely negative
conclusion for the United States and yet at the time they remained in a
gruesome war with North Vietnam. A whistle-blower leaks the documents to both
the New York Times and The Post and the film becomes a ‘will-they-won’t-they’
of whether the papers will publish the classified papers and face Nixon’s
wrath. The tension and excitement in such a situation reminded me of Spotlight.
There is substantial anticipation when the journalists get hold of such large
stories and have to deliberate over the consequences of publishing such remarkable
news. It’s a magnified version of the feeling one gets when someone tells you a
massive secret and you have to try and keep it. Spielberg paces the film like a
marathon runner. I never felt like things were moving too slowly or that we
were being rushed along. Instead the tension and the feelings in the characters
was built and built to a climax, all of which gave us an opportunity to see
these two legendary actors show their class. Praise has to be given all around
as the supporting cast were strong, direction and writing were fabulous and,
although not show-stopping, Kamiński and Williams cooked their courses just
right. Meat and drink for such big names, but they still pulled it out the bag.
Acting 4 / 4
Writing 3.5 / 4
Cinematography 3 / 4
Music 3 / 4
HWF rating 3.5 / 4
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