Title: The Post
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Sarah Paulson
Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins
What It Is: When classified documents about the United States government lying to its people about the Vietnam War leak to the New York Post President Nixon sues the paper. Now the Washington Post has these documents and it’ll be up to the paper owner Kay Graham (Streep) and paper president Ben Bradlee (Hanks) have a decision to make. Do they follow the Times and print portions of these formerly confidential docs or do they take the chance and risk the papers entire future.
What We Think: Spielberg is still one of the best directors working. That he has an unbelievable cast of this magnitude to work with is ridiculous. It’s like giving a mediums greatest artist all the colors of the rainbow and telling him to have his way. That’s exactly what Spielberg does here. There’s tension even in the most mundane of scenes. While the script certainly isn’t the strongest 2017 had to offer it is a good backbone for an otherwise above average display by Spielberg. Which is to say this far exceeds work by lesser auteurs.
Our Grade: A, Stellar performances from Bob Odenkirk and including the always reliable Streep and Hanks culminate in an edge of your seat style assault on the written word and freedom of the press. I can recommend you check this one out, I mean it is a Best Picture nominee and some of you out there are like me and your completionist. To those folks, I salute you, but I also want to tell you this might be the weakest of the nominees, and that is saying something for sure. Check it out before you miss out on Spielberg doing Spielberg things.