Another journalistic thriller from one of Spotlight’s screenwriters, another Oscar nomination. This time we're investigating the pre-Watergate struggle between the government and the free press, a fight that went all the way to the supreme court and drew the personal ire of President Nixon. So loaded with parallels to the current social climate that director Steven Spielberg sprinted it through production, it's well-made but rushed, straightforward and more than a little familiar.
Most impressive is Meryl Streep, who conveys vast inner turmoil as Kay Graham, marginalized publisher of the Washington Post, as she labors to balance her writers' integrity with an impending IPO that could potentially sink the paper. Kay's growth is what really drives the chariot, a compelling counterpoint to the journalistic sleuthing and boardroom/courtroom decisions that don't directly involve her. We see her resigned to the sitting room with the other ladies so the boys can talk politics, willingly accepting her preordained role in society, then slowly grow bolder and more outspoken as the waters grow dicier. She's never completely confident, especially in the one pressure-packed phone call that signifies her pivot, but that makes her all the more interesting and sympathetic.
Where the antagonistic relationship between President and press signifies an obvious complement to Trump's war on fake news, Graham's battle is an equally appropriate nod to the recent push for women's rights. Rich and pertinent, it's an engaging watch, but the workmanlike, by-the-numbers production and hollow, lackluster climax left me feeling a little flat.
Review by drqshadowBlockedParent2020-01-29T20:59:17Z
Another journalistic thriller from one of Spotlight’s screenwriters, another Oscar nomination. This time we're investigating the pre-Watergate struggle between the government and the free press, a fight that went all the way to the supreme court and drew the personal ire of President Nixon. So loaded with parallels to the current social climate that director Steven Spielberg sprinted it through production, it's well-made but rushed, straightforward and more than a little familiar.
Most impressive is Meryl Streep, who conveys vast inner turmoil as Kay Graham, marginalized publisher of the Washington Post, as she labors to balance her writers' integrity with an impending IPO that could potentially sink the paper. Kay's growth is what really drives the chariot, a compelling counterpoint to the journalistic sleuthing and boardroom/courtroom decisions that don't directly involve her. We see her resigned to the sitting room with the other ladies so the boys can talk politics, willingly accepting her preordained role in society, then slowly grow bolder and more outspoken as the waters grow dicier. She's never completely confident, especially in the one pressure-packed phone call that signifies her pivot, but that makes her all the more interesting and sympathetic.
Where the antagonistic relationship between President and press signifies an obvious complement to Trump's war on fake news, Graham's battle is an equally appropriate nod to the recent push for women's rights. Rich and pertinent, it's an engaging watch, but the workmanlike, by-the-numbers production and hollow, lackluster climax left me feeling a little flat.