Truth (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Truth' (directed by James Vanderbilt) may not be perfect - more on that later - but I still found it to be an engrossing, well-acted film about the crash-&-burn of journalist Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett), the resignation of CBS' venerable news anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford), a stomach-churning portrait of dirty politics, & a study of the sad, commercially-driven state of investigative journalism. 'Truth' highlights Mapes as an intense, hard-working journalist for 60 Minutes; and Dan Rather's long-serving producer. She famously broke the story of the U.S. military's abuse of prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib. But now, she turns her focus onto another controversial story (and looking for it to alter the course of the 2004 presidential election btwn. Bush & John Kerry).
Plainly put, she is investigating how George Bush used family connections to avoid combat in the Vietnam War & never fulfilled his tenure in the National Guard; finding evidence that some political strings were pulled for this to have happened. Encouraged by CBS News president Andrew Heyward (Bruce Greenwood), she believes that asking questions is how you get to the truth (sure, she's a leftist feminist who loathes Bush, but as a journalist, she aims to provide only the facts). Bush's commander died in 1984, but she gets a big break when she is contacted by Lt. Col. Bill Burkett (the excellent Stacy Keach), a National Guard vet who reluctantly hands-over documents to her which seem to prove that Bush went AWOL during his service ... a fact that seems to have been covered up by many. After having several 'experts' verify the documents' legitimacy, even though only "copies" are available, she prepares & expedites a damaging expose on Bush for 60 Minutes.
At first it looks like another triumph for Mapes, Rather, & the team she assembled (including Dennis Quaid, Elizabeth Moss, & Topher Grace), but then other news outlets, internet bloggers, & politicians start to question the documents; citing such things as fonts that weren't available on typewriters at the time, flawed signatures, and shoddy sources. Instead of being a glorious break about Bush's National Guard service, the story becomes whether CBS used forged documents. But when the erratic Col. Burkett changes his story about how he received those initial documents, people start to wonder whether Mapes & the entire CBS news team are the victims of dirty politics. Together, Mapes/Rather lament the increasing stranglehold of corporate power & dirty politics over thorough investigative journalists. But dirty politics or NOT ... CBS is viewed as damaged goods, Mapes' superiors demand answers, and the repercussions for everybody involved are grave.
Based on Mary Mapes' "Truth and Duty: The Press, The President, and the Privilege of Power", screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) makes a promising directing debut with this condemnation of how Internet obsession with gossip/minutia has annihilated the 'big picture'. It's also about how and responsible reporting on scandalous stories CANNOT be rushed -- standing up for what you believe in and reporting the TRUTH doesn't matter if you don't cross-check/double-check/triple-check your sources. 'Truth' - flaws aside - will play well to journalism folks, but plenty of laypeople will be as engrossed as I was. Why? Because it shows us a bit of what occurs behind the scenes (not what Dan Rather spews to us each night). I was also intrigued to view the slow, but steady retreat from the scandal of the story by CBS. The levels of fear, anxiety, & desperation that they all undergo as the scandal grows & evolves is just fascinating to watch.
Central to 'Truth' is Cate Blanchett, who delivers a powerful performance which lends humanity, nuance, & some startling empathy to a woman who is fairly un-liked. Blanchett exhibits a kaleidoscope of varying emotions. She is absolutely exuberant in her passion for putting together a tantalizing story. She is enraged-then-devastated when her estranged father publicly criticizes her. She becomes boozy and utterly neurotic by all the ups-&-downs of this expose. And she is ultimately furious when grilled by a CBS review panel that is hell bent on ending her journalistic career. Robert Redford doesn't look like Dan Rather, but he captures Rather's inflections, earnestness, pomposity, & insights into the dreadful decline of modern journalism. Stacy Keach is excellent as the ailing whistleblower, Col. Burkett. And his wife, played by Aussie actress Noni Hazelhurst is exceptional in one brief scene in which she lays into Mapes for asking how her manipulated husband is feeling.
Now, no one can argue that this film isn't (at least) interesting & expertly acted. But 'Truth' stumbles a bit from time to time. There are moments when 'Truth' veers into 'inside baseball', where audiences with non-journalistic backgrounds could struggle to get what's going on. There is also some criticism that this film, based on Mapes' book, is too much of a one-sided propaganda piece: the feminist, leftist journalist who rushes a story that she knew would influence the Bush/Kerry election. There's an air of sanctimoniousness which permeates the proceedings and, politics aside, we don't see Bush's side of things. I'M not complaining ... but I see it. I wasn't wild about Topher Grace's rant against corporate America that he launches into near the end of the film. And there are a few contrived/soft domestic scenes sprinkled in, too. That said, I still believe this is inherently complex movie is coherent enough and gripping enough to overcome its stumbling blocks.
Plainly put, she is investigating how George Bush used family connections to avoid combat in the Vietnam War & never fulfilled his tenure in the National Guard; finding evidence that some political strings were pulled for this to have happened. Encouraged by CBS News president Andrew Heyward (Bruce Greenwood), she believes that asking questions is how you get to the truth (sure, she's a leftist feminist who loathes Bush, but as a journalist, she aims to provide only the facts). Bush's commander died in 1984, but she gets a big break when she is contacted by Lt. Col. Bill Burkett (the excellent Stacy Keach), a National Guard vet who reluctantly hands-over documents to her which seem to prove that Bush went AWOL during his service ... a fact that seems to have been covered up by many. After having several 'experts' verify the documents' legitimacy, even though only "copies" are available, she prepares & expedites a damaging expose on Bush for 60 Minutes.
At first it looks like another triumph for Mapes, Rather, & the team she assembled (including Dennis Quaid, Elizabeth Moss, & Topher Grace), but then other news outlets, internet bloggers, & politicians start to question the documents; citing such things as fonts that weren't available on typewriters at the time, flawed signatures, and shoddy sources. Instead of being a glorious break about Bush's National Guard service, the story becomes whether CBS used forged documents. But when the erratic Col. Burkett changes his story about how he received those initial documents, people start to wonder whether Mapes & the entire CBS news team are the victims of dirty politics. Together, Mapes/Rather lament the increasing stranglehold of corporate power & dirty politics over thorough investigative journalists. But dirty politics or NOT ... CBS is viewed as damaged goods, Mapes' superiors demand answers, and the repercussions for everybody involved are grave.
Based on Mary Mapes' "Truth and Duty: The Press, The President, and the Privilege of Power", screenwriter James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) makes a promising directing debut with this condemnation of how Internet obsession with gossip/minutia has annihilated the 'big picture'. It's also about how and responsible reporting on scandalous stories CANNOT be rushed -- standing up for what you believe in and reporting the TRUTH doesn't matter if you don't cross-check/double-check/triple-check your sources. 'Truth' - flaws aside - will play well to journalism folks, but plenty of laypeople will be as engrossed as I was. Why? Because it shows us a bit of what occurs behind the scenes (not what Dan Rather spews to us each night). I was also intrigued to view the slow, but steady retreat from the scandal of the story by CBS. The levels of fear, anxiety, & desperation that they all undergo as the scandal grows & evolves is just fascinating to watch.
Central to 'Truth' is Cate Blanchett, who delivers a powerful performance which lends humanity, nuance, & some startling empathy to a woman who is fairly un-liked. Blanchett exhibits a kaleidoscope of varying emotions. She is absolutely exuberant in her passion for putting together a tantalizing story. She is enraged-then-devastated when her estranged father publicly criticizes her. She becomes boozy and utterly neurotic by all the ups-&-downs of this expose. And she is ultimately furious when grilled by a CBS review panel that is hell bent on ending her journalistic career. Robert Redford doesn't look like Dan Rather, but he captures Rather's inflections, earnestness, pomposity, & insights into the dreadful decline of modern journalism. Stacy Keach is excellent as the ailing whistleblower, Col. Burkett. And his wife, played by Aussie actress Noni Hazelhurst is exceptional in one brief scene in which she lays into Mapes for asking how her manipulated husband is feeling.
Now, no one can argue that this film isn't (at least) interesting & expertly acted. But 'Truth' stumbles a bit from time to time. There are moments when 'Truth' veers into 'inside baseball', where audiences with non-journalistic backgrounds could struggle to get what's going on. There is also some criticism that this film, based on Mapes' book, is too much of a one-sided propaganda piece: the feminist, leftist journalist who rushes a story that she knew would influence the Bush/Kerry election. There's an air of sanctimoniousness which permeates the proceedings and, politics aside, we don't see Bush's side of things. I'M not complaining ... but I see it. I wasn't wild about Topher Grace's rant against corporate America that he launches into near the end of the film. And there are a few contrived/soft domestic scenes sprinkled in, too. That said, I still believe this is inherently complex movie is coherent enough and gripping enough to overcome its stumbling blocks.