The Post

Parental Rating: PG-13

Contains: Language    Violence    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens December 22, 2017 (Limited)

Runs 115 minutes

In the early 1970's, it was discovered that the Government had been covering up the escalation of the Vietnam War for years - years that spanned four Presidential administrations. With the release of the "Pentagon Papers" this information was made public. But, immediately the New York Times was told to cease and desist from printing any more of these confidential documents. In comes the Washington Post. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) gets a whiff of the government cover-up and immediately begins a search for these "papers". Meanwhile, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep), the owner of the Post, is in the middle of the Post's public offering. She inherited the paper after her husband's suicide and many of her Board members are concerned that the Post is now run by a woman. It was never her dream to run this paper but now she is in charge. Once she is informed that Ben has secured the Pentagon papers, she must face the toughest decision of her career - to print the papers and face possible arrest and potential financial ruin or to suppress the papers and keep vital information from the public.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this movie is fast-paced and smartly done. The acting is great. Watching Meryl play Kay as she faces down the men on her Board and comes into her own is like watching a master class in acting. A lot of the reviews are falling along partisan lines. "Fake news is a common catch phrase we hear every day. Putting that aside, this is a movie based on actual events and it is well-done. It does reflect the importance of a free press in maintaining the integrity of our democracy. (We won't get into the fact that today it seems that a lot of the journalists lack the integrity of the old days, when facts were actually checked and supported, but that is a discussion for another day). The Husband and I liked this movie a lot. The cast was terrific and the story felt fresh even though it happened in the early 1970's. If you like films based on true events, then this might be for you. Go see it.

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