The Post (2017)

“The Post” stars Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Tracy Letts, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, and Matthew Rhys.  Released in limited theaters on December 22, 2017, followed by a wide release on January 12, 2018, the film chronicles the newspaper journalists and their attempt to publish the Pentagon Papers.

The film is directed by Steven Spielberg, who also directed films such as Jaws, Saving Private Ryan, The Terminal, and Lincoln.  My desire to see award-potential films still rages on as I head on over to the latest biographical drama from one of my favorite directors, Steven Spielberg.  The Pentagon Papers has been known for uncovering hidden information about the U.S. government’s involvement with the Vietnam War.  Even though I’m not a huge history buff, I was very eager to see it anyway because of Spielberg and the cast, most notably Streep and Hanks.  Now that I finally saw it for the first time, did it do the fact-based story justice?  Yes, yes it did.

One of the things that I found impressive was, of course, Spielberg’s sense of direction.  He did an incredible job at painting a realistic portrayal of the event as well as how the publishers handle this type of situation.  The film truly specifies that even in political situations, speaking the truth is a much better option rather than lying or covering it up despite the consequences.  Not only were these themes well-handled, but the screenplay also helps in providing some depth in the characters.  Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep both delivered some really good performances from start to finish as Ben Bradlee and Kay Graham, respectively.  In fact, these two talented people were the only ones that kept this film going for me.  The story alone has plenty of interesting moments, but to me, it was having a hard time maintaining that amount of interest throughout the entire first half of the film.  I’m not joking, I was on the verge of falling asleep a few times before the second half starts.  Now, I can easily blame myself for not getting enough sleep last night or blame the film for its slow pacing.  Probably both.  I’m sure that when I watch it again, my opinion may change a little bit, but my experience alone has left me concerned that the film may have the same effect on people who aren’t into films that are slow-paced and full of history.

Overall, aside from its pacing and my unusual experience with its first half, “The Post” is another solid piece of history filmmaking from Steven Spielberg.  The performances from the cast were impressive and Spielberg’s direction towards this concept was well-executed as well as inspiring.  It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re a big Spielberg follower or if you’re interested in how the Pentagon Papers came to be.  Also, I would like to apologize for not loving it as much as you guys do.  To be honest, I did not expect myself to almost fall asleep in front of a Steven Spielberg film, but apparently, it happened, and I’m going to regret that action for the next couple of weeks or so.  Hopefully, my opinion will change when I watch it again on television.  Until then, this final grade will have to do.

B