Movie Review: Important message outshines 'The Post'

20th Century Fox

The Post (2017, directed by Steven Spielberg. U.S.A., English, Color, 115 minutes) As a journalist I'm automatically bias toward films about my profession. I get wrapped up in watching the whole process of sourcing, interviewing, uncovering great secrets, the emotional attachment to the story; I love it all and "The Post" doesn't disappoint on that front.

Released at the most appropriate time when the press is constantly being discredited and attacked, "The Post" is a throwback to one of the defining journalism cases of the 20th century: The publication of the highly classified Pentagon Papers. Unfortunately, "The Post" uses that watershed moment as nothing more than a platform for the filmmakers' own political message. This story deserved more than what Steven Spielberg rushed to get made.

If you are unfamiliar, the New York Times started publishing the leaked documents in 1971 before President Richard Nixon got a court order to bar them from writing anymore stories about the papers. The Washington Post picked up where the NYT was restricted, opening the flood gates for other publications to follow suit in the documents that were leaked to them, too. At the head of The Post at the time was news hungry executive editor Ben Bradlee (portrayed by Tom Hanks) and modest, first-time publisher Katherine Graham (portrayed by Meryl Streep) who butt heads on doing what is morally right and what is legally acceptable.

For as important as the central theme of "The Post" is I can't look beyond why it was made other than to denounce the administration of President Donald Trump and naysayers of the press. One point in the movie, which is seen in the trailer, is the mockery the film makes of its story as if it's nothing compared to its overall message to the public. A character has big boxes filled with the Pentagon Papers in the airplane seat next to him and he tells the stewardess, as if a joke she wouldn't believe, that they're filled with government secrets. I understand the need for some humor in the movie, but I doubt one would be so cavalier about holding classified documents with them, and in public no less. Good reporters take their jobs seriously and wouldn't dare mock their worth on a story so big as to say the government has been lying about one of the biggest military endeavors in the 20th Century.

It is surprising that this groundbreaking event in the journalism profession hasn't been told on the big screen before. It has paved the way for the press to continue that freedom to publish items that are of high public interest without fear that the government will shut them down for doing so. In this climate where the use of sources seems peculiar to the uninformed of this business and, therefore, seems to discredit the profession, "The Post" reminds us that what we do is not a game where we make stuff up. The information we receive is very important and we take the utmost care to present stories in a respectable manner. That's what publishing the Pentagon Papers has taught us. The facts aren't always concurrent with what the government wants us to know, and that's why papers like NYT and The Post are crucial.

The importance of journalism aside, "The Post" was just OK. The trouble with watching a film about real life events is that you know how it's going to end. "The Post" doesn't provide the thrilling elements of "All the President's Men" nor the enthralling investigative practices of "Spotlight". It just goes through the motions with sharp finesse and a really good cast. The greatest thing about "The Post" is reiterating that the press is a cornerstone of democracy.

Rating: C+