{"id":238,"date":"2018-01-20T23:11:49","date_gmt":"2018-01-20T23:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.granitecitynow.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2018-03-31T00:44:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-31T00:44:41","slug":"the-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.granitecitynow.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"The Post"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cCongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press\u2026\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This (partial) amendment has been around for literally two hundred years.<\/p>\n

And then some.<\/p>\n

So, these words are far from new. They\u2019ve been memorized in classrooms; they\u2019ve been recited in courtrooms. And now, front and center his latest flick, Steven Spielberg shines a light on these words and the depth of everything for which they stand.<\/p>\n

And then some.<\/p>\n

This one isn\u2019t prefaced with those four magical words \u2013 based on true events<\/a> \u2013 but that\u2019s because it doesn\u2019t need to be.<\/p>\n

The story in \u201cThe Post\u201d is as familiar as the First Amendment and opens smack in the midst of the Vietnam War, 1966, when there were things going on about which the American public had no idea.<\/p>\n

That is, until analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) \u2013 that purposeful slow zoom hinting that he<\/em> understands what\u2019s happening \u2013 decides to photocopy (lookit that copier!!<\/em>) a whole gaggle of highly classified documents.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably heard of them; they\u2019re better known as the Pentagon Papers, and they threatened to reveal that the government had \u201cdeeply mislead the country on the Vietnam War\u201d to the point that \u201cthey knew we couldn\u2019t win, but they still sent boys off to die.\u201d<\/p>\n

Damning? Oh, for sure!<\/p>\n

The New York Times publishes an expose on \u201cthe most highly classified papers on the Vietnam War,\u201d only to be subsequently silenced by Richard Nixon\u2019s administration. And basically, any newspaper that dares to print more from these papers faces similar consequences.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a little newspaper like The Washington Post to do? Especially when it\u2019s in the process of making big, public business decisions, and there are questions abound regarding its leadership?<\/p>\n

Publisher Katherine \u201cKay\u201d Graham (Meryl Streep, a likely Oscar nominee \u2013 duh!) and Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) certainly have their work cut out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they lied. The way they lied\u2026 those days have to be over,\u201d Bradlee insists. \u201cWe have to be the check on their actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because, I mean\u2026 that\u2019s what newspapers do<\/em>. And like it or not, that\u2019s precisely why we need them<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The choice to publish or not ultimately will determine Kay\u2019s reputation \u2013 and possibly her freedom; there\u2019s understandable concern about The Post facing the same fate as the New York Times, about what the banks will do, about, y\u2019know, treason<\/em>.<\/p>\n

And while Hanks\u2019 character has some killer lines one of his most profound is also one of the film\u2019s most legitimate arguments: \u201cIf we live in a world where the government tells us what we can and cannot print, then The Washington Post has already ceased to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buckle up, kids.<\/p>\n

Having worked at a newspaper for 15 years, I was fascinated to compare the newsroom and processes in this flick against what I had been around for a decade and a half.<\/p>\n

It was impressive to see these old-school techniques in full swing: the constant clicking and drumming sounds of the typewriters (remember those??) being used by reporters, the communication between one department and another, the tediousness but nostalgia of the Linotype (ohmigod!<\/em>); and the entire printing process<\/a>, from the plates, to the reels of paper, to the rollers, to the conveyor belt, to the stacking and binding \u2013 and finally to the docks and out for delivery.<\/p>\n

The costuming and fashion and props and background noises all are true to the time, and there\u2019s even use of Nixon\u2019s actual recorded conversations (the ones recorded by the man himself).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be honest, \u201cThe Post\u201d isn\u2019t a high-testosterone action flick. The set-up take a while; there are a lot of pieces that need to be put into place before this thing gets rolling. Once that happened, though, I was good; there are plenty of pulse-pounding moments to hold your attention, even if you know how this one ends.<\/p>\n

This is exactly the type of high-stakes, big drama event about which movies are made; it just so happens that this one pretty much wrote itself.<\/p>\n

These characters are smart and determined; they know what they have to do, but they also know what they\u2019re up against.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019ve ever had that feeling of having something so elusive actually within reach, but you need certain pieces to fall into place at specific moments in order to be successful, you will totally understand the heart-beating-out-of-your-chest mixture of excitement and anxiety in \u201cThe Post.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spielberg\u2019s tight shots and jumpy camera help elevate that nervousness, especially during that sequence in Bradlee\u2019s living room, with journalists and papers strewn about every surface and that looming deadline just a-tickin\u2019 away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Post\u201d is an eye-opening look at the urgency of truth \u2013 and the importance of, logic behind and delicate nature inherent in those rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

And if ever there was a time for this movie, it\u2019s right now.<\/p>\n

You have just enjoyed the insights of Movie Addict Mel, a cinema dork and conversational writer. Follow her on Twitter\u00a0@movieaddictmel<\/a>, and \u201clike\u201d her Facebook page\u00a0www.facebook.com\/movieaddictmel<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0You also can email her at movieaddictmel@outlook.com<\/em>.<\/p>\n