When A Film Is Released At The Perfect Time
When I had first heard about Steven Spielberg making The Post I was a little worried. I was worried because he had planned to make it in such a short amount of time and he was making it whilst he was still doing work on Ready Player One, one of my most anticipated films ever. I was worried that Spielberg wasn’t going to be able to get it made correctly to his vision in time for it’s release. After having seen The Post I now understand why he made it so well and why he is one of the only directors in Hollywood who could’ve pulled it off.
The Post follows the story of journalists versus the government when a government cover up over the effectivness of the Vietnam war was hidden away from the public so that the government and United States of America wouldn’t be embarrassed. The film centres around The Washington Post and it’s role in leaking these documents as both the woman in charge of the paper, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep), and the paper’s editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), are under an immense amount of pressure to keep the paper alive.
The Post is a film that is surprisingly so relevant to today and that is why it had to be made. To put it simply The Post follows a woman in charge of one of the biggest newspaper companies in the United States of America, who is trying to be pushed out by the rest of the board who are all males. The Post is also about journalistic freedom and the rights that the public have to knowing crucial details about events that affect them. In this case it is about how the people of the United States are sending their sons off to the Vietnam War when the government knew that the war was pointless and not getting anywhere. These three things are still relevant topics of discussion in today’s society and The Post does a fantastic job at breaking down everything and telling a story that supports those who are oppressed and silence by people who think they know the most or know what is best when they really don’t.
The timing of the film is impeccable and its obvious why Spielberg chose to make it so quickly. The Post is the type of film that needs to be seen and it will be part of the conversation in this world of change. If it was released later than it wouldn’t of had as much of an effect on people’s views but now it has the oppurtunity to be shinning light for an entire section of the conversation. You have Meryl Streep, who plays Kay Graham a woman who is oppressed and constantly being put down by the men around her who just assume she doesn’t know what shes doing but in fact as the story goes she is one of the smartest and wisest people in the room. Then you have Tom Hanks who plays Ben Bradlee a man who puts himself and the entire newspaper on the line to tell the truth to the public when others wont.
The film isn’t just great because of it’s message and the role it plays in today’s society but it is also great because. despite the short amount of time it took to make, it is a really well crafted film. The cinematography is beautiful with some easy yet stylistic shots and the shots of the paper printing is extremely satisfying. John William’s score is some of the best work he has ever done and helps to make the film feel even more like a Spielberg classic. The score creates a sort of crazy environment aspect to the film, similar to how the score for Jurassic Park works so well to add to the intesity of that film. The acting is phenominal and best of all Spielberg’s staging of scenes and the actors a joy to watch as the editing isn’t just cutting to different characters all the time but instead you can see Spielberg’s years of experience play out in front of you as if you were there watching these crazy exciting moments happen.
The Post is easily one of the best films I have ever seen. With or without its message and relevancy I still believe the film would be a Spielberg classic. I’m not usually a fan of Spielberg’s non action/adventure films but The Post is like a fantastic final chapter in Spielberg’s modern day films. Next up he has Ready Player One which reunites him with his action/adventure films that he is widely known for. I’m glad that I just got to love and enjoy one of his more modern films one more time before he goes back to adventure films. Spielberg has created a film that everyone should see because it’s message is extremely relevant and its just a fantastic film.