Abhijit Basu

REVIEW OF ‘THE POST’, A MOVIE BY STEVEN SPIELBERG [“The way to assert the right to publish is to publish” – Tom Hanks, as Editor Ben Bradlee] Going by the personal experience of remaining glued on a multiplex seat for nearly two hours, watching momentous events unfold in producer-director Steven Spielberg’s thrilling newspaper drama, one can well see why ‘The Post,’ released in January 2018, has in the matter of a few days caught the imagination of so many critics and discriminating viewers across the world. Spielberg’s unrivalled mastery of the science of cinematic technique and the art of storytelling are writ large all over the film. For good measure, the master has taken on board the synergy of an expert team, including associate cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, script-writers Liz Hannah and Josh Singer and music composer John Williams. The cinematic brilliance of depicting in a dramatically engaging manner the hustle-bustle of newspaper offices and the humdrum operations of type-setting and gigantic printing presses is as compelling to view as are the Hitchcockian touches of a reporter dropping a load of coins on the pavement in a frantic bid to call his source on a payphone, or of the same source smuggling out the Pentagon Papers through a security gate, or of the same Papers being delivered in shoeboxes by nameless messengers. In telling its grippingly complex story, The Post achieves the twin effect of being both evocatively nostalgic as also topically relevant in today’s political context. While the nostalgia stems from historical events pertaining to the 1970s lived through by many of us, the context of a bullying president trying to muzzle the media and mislead the people at large bears an unmistakable whiff of current relevance. The history presented is mostly authentic, except for the dramatizing of The Washington Post's involvement in exposing the Pentagon Papers and downplaying the pivotal role which journalists from The New York Times had played in it. Coming to portrayal of the dramatis personae, Tom Hanks’s Ben Bradlee is almost at par with Jason Robard’s unforgettable depiction of the aggressively idealistic newspaper editor in Alan J Pakula’s iconic political thriller ‘All the President’s Men.’ But what steals the show is Meryl Streep’s sensitive portrayal of Katharine Graham’s inner conflict as a seemingly diffident newspaper proprietress confronted with a crisis of choice between contrary assertions by more assertive male members in her board and between call of higher journalistic duty vis-à-vis both organisational expediency and personal loyalty to longtime friend Robert McNamara. Arguably, this one should rank high amongst the best of Meryl Streep’s many award-winning performances, such as those in ‘Kramer vs Kramer’, ‘Sophie’s Choice’, ‘Herself’ and ‘The Iron Lady.’ Bruce Greenwood, in his role as McNamara, is convincing both in physical appearance and in historical consistency as the shrewd, bespectacled Secretary of Defence, whose concern for academic and historical objectivity to find and record the truth behind three decades of cynical and bloody American embroilment in the Vietnam War led to the politically explosive exposé of the ‘Pentagon Papers.’ The role of Daniel Ellsberg, the original whistle-blower, is played with aplomb by Matthew Rhys. Bob Odenkirk, well known for his accomplished portrayal of an amoral lawyer in the Netflix series titled ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Better Call Saul,’ gives a sterling performance, this time as the truth-seeking Assistant Editor Ben Bagdikian. Finally, Richard Nixon, in dark silhouette and voicing hard intents in characteristically guttural voice, appears authentic and sinister. The endnote, showing the Watergate burglary, seems to underscore the aspect of close chronology between two turbulent episodes of investigative reportage into political chicanery and related cover-up, which left their indelible marks on America’s history.