Despite the thoughts of the current President, The Washington Post is one of the great newspapers reporting news to the world today. However, that was not always the case. The Post chronicles the paper’s ascension from a small gossip source to a prominent speaker of truth to power during the leak of the Pentagon Papers to the Press. Add a little Streep, a little Hanks, and a pinch of Spielberg, and you have yourself a guaranteed solid film.
Journalist Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys), stole the Pentagon Papers when he realized Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood) and the government was lying to the American people about the Vietnam War. The New York Times took the first stab at publishing stories, but was injunctioned by the Nixon Administration. Enter Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), the Post investigative journalist who with help from Ben Bagdickian (Bob Odenkirk), obtained the papers with the intent to publish them. Also enter Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) the woman actually running the paper with whom the decision to publish despite the court injunction rests. These two set in motion the events that helped lead to the Watergate Scandal, and the eventual downfall of Richard Nixon.
The Post has the good fortune of being extremely relevant, and universal. Speaking truth to power is as important a role in society as any other. Spielberg knows this, and lends The Post his talents to drive home that message. The stealing of the papers is extremely thrilling to watch, playing like a thriller. Then the story seamlessly splits into 2. The thriller part handled by Hanks’s Bradlee and his quest to obtain and publish the stolen documents. Meanwhile, low key, Streep’s Graham plays a little like low key comedic relief and subtle drama about a woman surrounded and told by powerful men what to do. The two stories collide when it comes time to publish the papers, inherently amplifying the drama twofold as the two stories merge. However, the talents of the actors/directors build the tension to a delightful underplaying of the big moment where Graham tells Bradlee to publish. Speilberg then lays it on pretty thick with the schmaltz, but by that point you’re ok with it because of all the goodwill and importance of what you’re watching.
This isn’t Meryl’s best work, but as Kay Graham, she gets a couple wonderful scenes to show her frustration in private and put on a facade in public, in a way that only Streep could sell effortlessly. Hanks is doing a 70’s newspaper man shtick, attaching his own take on a role made famous in All the President’s Men. But The Post is more than just those two and Spielberg. The bench of awesome character actors is stunning, from Mr. Show’s Stars (Bob Odenkirk and David Cross) to the FX brigade (Matthew Rhys [The Americans], Sarah Paulson [People vs. OJ Simpson], Carrie Coon [Fargo] and Jesse Plemons [Fargo]), Alison Brie, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford. Everyone comes in like a true ensemble, delivers their lines with talent and enthusiasm, and gets out, just like Spotlight; apparently, investigative journalism is done with a swarm, not just one person.
The Post reminds me a lot of Sully from 2 years ago. While not revelatory films, both have amazing directors, Tom Hanks, and a great cast that provide the audience a solid film and entertainment. What range from Hanks huh? Star pilot to investigative journalist to David S. Pumpkins. A pretty amazing tranformation!