Film Review - The Post (2018)

The Post is directed by Steven Spielberg and is based off of the Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971 despite the Nixon administration’s specific wishes against such a plan having already barred the New York Times from publishing state secrets but the chief editor of the paper (Tom Hanks) and its owner (Meryl Streep) have to contend with lest they also feel the White House’s wrath.

I really enjoyed the Post and I can be very Hot and Cold on Spielberg as a filmmaker he’s made films like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark that I really love but at the same time he can be very sweet and sentimental no doubt coming after his huge success with ET in 1982 which was a very sweet and sentimental film despite its darker moments but here I thought he directed the film well bringing a feel that actually made me think this was cinematic unlike Spotlight in 2016 which I enjoyed but felt it didn’t look cinematic and could have easily enjoyed it as much on Video.

As for the performances well when Streep is good in a movie it feels like the world is a slightly better place as it feels like a cinematic crime when she is either wasted or bad in a movie role as for Hanks well he’s Tom Hanks he’s his usual solid self plus I did enjoy Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara the Defense Secretary and the inspiration (well the name anywau) for Dr. McNamara who administered the ED-209 in Robocop.

But while watching this movie I thought to myself that this felt like a really nice tribute to all of my wonderful friends at ABC South East SA where I just finished up after 3 and a half years doing film reviews there for them and having seen that newsroom environment up close and seeing how hard everyone there works to deliver and create the content both in news stories and on Radio watching the newsroom scenes in this movie reminded me of them in some way so much so that when Hanks has his back to camera and walks away in one scene he literally reminded me of Stuart who runs that office.

And so that was the Post a really enjoyable drama that serves as one of Spielberg’s better movies of recent years, 3 and a half out of 5.