It’s difficult to make a suspenseful movie about true events, when it’s obvious to everyone how the story will end. Sadly, The Post does not rise to the challenge.
Synopsis: In 1971, The New York Times has access to classified documents about the Vietnam War. However, the government uses the justice department to stop the distribution of newspapers claiming violation of the national security laws. Immediately after, the Washington Post has access to similar documents but they decide to face the government and publish the newspapers against the will of their lawyers and investors.
- Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Both The Washington Post and The New York Times not only remain in business, but they are perhaps the most well-known and respected news publications in the United States today. Despite its best efforts, The Post was never able to draw me in enough to make me forget how the story was destined to end.
On more than one occasion, the movie builds up dramatic tension about an article that may or may not get published, but then whiffs the payoff with a plain-looking front page and a headline you nearly have to squint to read on the screen. I suppose the newsprint needs to be historically accurate, and maybe I’ve been spoiled by headlines that were embellished for dramatic effect, but I felt unfulfilled by every climactic reveal of the The Washington Post’s front page.
But I suppose the story isn’t so much about The Washington Post as it is about Kay Graham coming out of her shell in an industry dominated by men. I particularly liked how the movie paints Kay’s decision to publish government secrets as a mirror image of the US’s decision to cover up the failures of the Vietnam war. It takes tremendous courage to do the right thing when it puts your legacy at risk. Unlike the Nixon administration, Kay was willing to accept the risk.
If this movie had been a fictionalized story based on true events, I may have found it more enjoyable. Instead, I was strung along by a story whose ending was already obvious.
★★