The Post (2017)

It's easy to see why critics fall over themselves to praise films like The Post. It is an example of one of America's most accomplished directors showing us all how it's done with his romantic eye and kinetic lens. It has two of America's greatest actors doing what they do best, giving nuanced and gripping performances which hit all the right notes. And it tackles an important, of the moment, story which speaks to essential pieces of western culture. While that's all well and good, sitting back one must admit that The Post is a very entertaining film with an important point, but it's also very on the nose, paint by numbers, and we've seen it all before.

Spielberg, Streep, and Hanks all elevate this into a very good movie and it's worth seeing. It is enjoyable. Really my only complaint is how standard it is. There is nothing remarkable or original about The Post. Everyone does a great job with it. Certainly this film would have suffered under the hands of lessor artists. However that doesn't mean the film isn't by the book. Like much of Spielberg's recent works (Lincoln, War Horse, Bridge of Spies) The Post is what one would expect. It's very good. It shows great craftsmanship. It entertains. But then it falls onto the shelf not to be enjoyed again.

Let me say it again. The Post is very good. Everyone does great things here. There are moments of pure joy in Streep's and Hanks' performances. There are little beautiful moments in Spielberg's filming of this story. And yes, the story is damn important and needs to be told, even if it is with such rose coloured glasses, glossing over the faults of the paper's history just a tad. However one point needs to be made.

Historical films often struggle with how to build momentum, suspense, that edge of your seat quality, when you know the outcome. Even without being page and verse familiar with the Pentagon Papers events, I knew how things would play out. Spielberg never finds a way to make it feel fresh. I have seen certain films which manage to transport me out of my own knowledge of history to be whisked away on an adventure. The Post wasn't one of those films. Spielberg plots out his argument methodically, setting all the pieces in motion fairly pedestrianly. And then the dominoes fall, just as we would expect. 

There is nothing revolutionary about The Post, nothing surprising. It is very good. You should see it. It is worth seeing. As I said it kind of glosses over the complicated history of The Washington Post and other papers like it. At one point Streep gives a throwaway line about "we're not always perfect." Well duh, no one is. But often they have been worse that "not perfect." Still their point about freedom of the press is essentially important.

The Post
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, David Cross
Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Liz Hannah, Josh Singer