2017 Films: #37. The Post

Chicago on February 3rd. Directed by Steven Spielberg, The Post tells the story of how the Washington Post published the Pentagon Papers, a series of classified documents outlaying America's 30 year role in the Viet Nam War.

Meryl Streep is Katharine Graham, the publisher of the Washington Post and 1st female publisher of a major newspaper. Graham comes from old money and is a socialite/player in the DC scene. She inherits the role of publisher upon the death of her husband and the fact that she's a woman in the 70's means that she's clearly unqualified for the job. Tom Hanks plays Ben Bradlee, a legendary journalist and newspaper man.

The Post at this time in the early 70's is not much of national newspaper and is clearly playing 2nd fiddle to the New York Times. It's the Times that actually takes the lead in the publishing of the Pentagon Papers but Post reporter Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) is able to track down the source of the leak and is able to obtain the papers for publishing.

Now, Graham is taking the paper public while all this is going on and there's fear that publishing the papers could jeopardize the deal. The White House takes the Post and Times to the Supreme Court to block the publication of the papers. The Supreme Court rules in favor of the newspapers and the Pentagon Papers are published. The First Amendment wins!

The film received an 88% Rotten Tomatoes rating and was nominated for Best Film and Best Actress Oscars but in all honesty, it was not that great. The problem I have with historical films like this is that I need to be pulled in because I know the outcome. Spielberg and Hanks teamed up for 2015's Bridge of Spies and that film didn't pull me in either. Spielberg's Lincoln, pulled me in. The Post is not on the same level as Lincoln. I never want to say that mega talents like Spielberg, Streep and Hanks phone it in. Hanks was not that special. A solid Hanks performance given, but not memorable by any stretch. As for Streep, I kept waiting for her to character to stop being such a namby-pamby and finally stand up for herself. I understand that Streep can get a nomination for sneezing onscreen because she's the best. She has no peers (thus she can never be convicted of a crime in a trial by jury).

This is a good picture with standout performances that is worth seeing if you're interested in the subject matter. Are you missing out if you don't see this film? Absolutely not. 

2017 Films: #36. Mudbound

A Netflix viewing on January 27th in Chicago. This film is based on the 2008 novel by Hillary Jordan and directed by Dee Rees. The film has been nominated for four Academy Awards including best adapted screenplay.

The film takes place in rural Mississippi between 1940-46ish. It tells the story of two families, the McAllan's who are white and the Jackson's, who are black and sharecrop for the McAllan's. The film opens with brothers Henry and Jamie McAllan (Jason Clarke and Garrett Hedlund) are struggling to bury their father and call on Hap Jackson (Rob Morgan) to help them as he rides by with his family. It's an uneasy scene. The film then flashes back to to tell the story of how we got to the opening scene.

Henry McAllan moves his wife Laura (Carey Mulligan), their daughters and super racist father, Pappy (Jonathan Banks) to rural Mississippi to run a farm he bought. The Jackson family, led by Hap and his wife Florence (played brilliantly by Mary J. Blige) work as sharecroppers on the McAllan farm with 4 kinds of the their own and dream of one day owning their own land (probably not an easy task for a black family in Mississippi in the 1940's). When WWII rears its ugly head, Jamie McAllan becomes a B-25 bomber pilot and Ronsel Jackson (Jason Mitchell) becomes a tank commander in a unit under the command of General Patton.

Life on the farm is difficult for both families, poverty is never too far away. Laura suffers a miscarriage, Hap breaks his leg, the McAllan girls get whooping cough and Pappy is a racist jerk. Laura takes a liking to the Jacksons as Florence helped through the miscarriage and the girl illness. So much so that Laura pays for a doctor to tend to Hap's bad leg.

Eventually Ronsel and Jamie come home from the war. Jamie is a decorated veteran but has severe PTSD and turns to alcohol to help him forget. Ronsel, who had a position of respect in the Army and didn't have to deal with the virulent racism from the French, Belgian and German (to the point where he's got a German girlfriend) people comes home to a different reception.

Ronsel and Jamie end up bonding over their war experiences and Jamie treats Ronsel with respect. Jamie tells the story of how he had lost his co-pilot and some of his crew on a bombing mission and was saved by a red tailed P-51 Mustang who's pilot was black. Jamie and Ronsel become friends and Ronsel rides in the front seat with Jamie. Unfortunately Pappy sees Ronsel in the front seat and discovers the photo Ronsel received of his German girlfriend and their son (the very photo of a mixed race child was enough to get a lynch mob together back then). Enter the KKK, they kidnap Ronsel and beat him up. Bad. Jamie tries to help but since he's drunk, he's easily defeated. Jamie is forced to watch as Ronsel is mutilated.

Before Henry comes back, Jamie takes his revenge on Pappy. Laura lies to Henry saying he died in his sleep. The Jacksons, having found Ronsel, leave the McAllan farm and that brings us back to the opening scene of the film.

Make no mistake, the subject matter is tough to handle. It's gut wrenching to see the institutionalized racism of that period. There's small references to it throughout the film. There are signs for "colored only" on the bus Ronsel is riding when he comes back home. When Pappy and another racist jerk run into Ronsel, in full dress uniform, at the local store, they tell him to use the back door. When Jamie and Ronsel first meet, Jamie gives him a lift and Ronsel gets in the back of the pickup. Jamie tells him to ride up front but Ronsel refuses. Jamie then orders him to ride up front and they realize that they both served in the Army. This is the start of the friendship. The guy couldn't ride in the front seat of car without fear of being lynched for crying out loud! WHAT THE F%CK!

There's a lot of good technical moments in the film as well. The camera gives a sense of dreariness. It conveys that this is a hard and unforgiving life. The Jacksons are able to escape the dreariness when they get their own land, a small but colorful patch. That color, gives hope to the Jacksons that their future may not be fraught with misery. The picture received a 96% Rotten Tomatoes rating that is well deserved. This is a film that is worth watching.