The comparisons being drawn between the Nixon and Trump presidencies in Steven Spielberg’s latest historical drama are striking. The Post covers the true story of how the emergence of the classified Pentagon Papers led to the downfall of president Richard Nixon, as well as the role the media played in exposing the government’s fraudulent claims. Through a wonderful cast and fresh new perspective on these events, Spielberg mostly succeeds in his retelling of the Washington Post’s rise in national stature.
The use of direct quotes from famous historical figures help to ground the film in familiar events, and yet these statements are just vague enough to sound like they could have been made in regards to modern media censorship issues.
“The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.” – Justice Hugo Black
In a society where tensions between the U.S. government and the media are once again under strain, these references echo the same sentiment that the film’s audiences may be feeling. As a result, The Post isn’t a completely emotionless affair – it digs deep into an issue that is raw and difficult to discuss without entering a political and social minefield.
There is certainly no coincidence that this film came out when it did. Spielberg is making a clear stand on the side of the free press. Unfortunately, this does eventually reach a point where The Post starts to feel less like a comment on the value of free speech, and more like a snarky jab at the recent phenomena of “fake news” and “alternative facts”.
Aside from the political overtones, The Post looks beyond the public ramifications of the Pentagon Papers, and probes the private lives of the publishers and journalists involved. This is where the cast shines, and where the movie’s core strength lies. Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Bob Odenkirk each portray real people who had a significant impact on American politics, and yet none of them are immediately recognisable as important historical figures. Despite this, they each leave their impression in the audiences’ minds by the end, and turn these ordinary people into fully fleshed out characters with real inner turmoil.
At the emotional centre of The Post is Kay Graham, the renowned publisher of the Washington Post, who Streep portrays with just the right balance of moral conviction and logic. At the crux of the movie is the conflict of these two values, putting Graham under pressure to make a decision upon which America’s future rests: whether to publish the Pentagon Papers and risk the future of her newspaper, or to withhold the confidential files and keep the American public in the dark about the Vietnam War.
In the end, there isn’t any real mystery as to what Graham will choose to do. There is a moral grey area that she dwells in, but it is also clear that there is a “right” choice that she is obligated to follow in order to fulfill the role of a likeable protagonist. Regardless, Spielberg demonstrates why he is considered one of the best at what he does, weaving suspense and emotional punches into even the quieter moments of the film.
While the thinly veiled criticism of Trump’s White House is often distracting, The Post redeems itself with Spielberg’s brilliant visual storytelling and some master class performances from the cast. Although its portrayal of America’s 1971 media censorship crisis is what has caught audiences’ attention, it is at its best when it brings the story down into the private lives of those at its centre.
