Director Paul Greengrass' work has been hit or miss for me. I really appreciated his 22 July, a powerful exploration of white terrorism in Norway, and I very much enjoyed his work on the Bourne films. But his "higher" work has often left me cold like with Captain Phillips and Green Zone. Here he has attempted a story of the past to speak to our very present, a parable to open us to our modern world. News of the World follows a former confederate during the post-Civil War period who is tasked with taking in an orphan and rebuilding the American nation. While it certainly raises some interesting questions, I'm just not sure it finds satisfying answers.
Hanks plays Captain Kidd, a former Confederate soldier who now makes his living, after the Civil War, going from town to town reading the news to illiterate town people. It is all rather on the nose as Kidd encounters ignorance, racism, polarization, and bias. His taking in of a child helps transform him into a better man but the film sort of drops the ball by insinuating he no longer holds to Confederate ideals, or perhaps never really did, but never showing us where his redemption for that comes from. He tries to bring "understanding" and enlightenment to a dark land and the metaphor for the American dream of nation building hits us over the head a bit.
If it wasn't for Hanks, whose gravitas helps elevate the material, the film would feel just too pat and easy. The film tries to be noble in its pursuit but feels forced. News of the World feels like it's going through the motions. It is shot episodically, moving from encounter to encounter in a way that feels like it is trying to hit all the beats. There are villains that appear, and they are only ever given a chance to be 2-dimensional before they are dispatched with. There are moments of excitement which fit into a neat few minutes each before the peril is resolved. But it is all rarely inspiring or overly engaging. I was never on the edge of my seat or wondered how it would all play out.
Surprise, Hanks and the young girl bond over time and form a new family. The film feels so cliche that it's "powerful" moments are rather stripped of any real power. Its message just feels so watered down, it's more of a platitude than a revelation. So overall, News of the World just feels like something we've seen before without offering us new or managing to be that entertaining.
News of the World
Starring: Tom Hanks, Helena Zengel, Mare Winningham, Elizabeth Marvel, Bill Camp
Director: Paul Greengrass
Writers: Luke Davies
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