Good Morning Lovelies, 

When you look back at history, it is safe to say that The Washington Post isn’t afraid to print the truth when it comes to the leaders of its country and those working for the US government. Having brought down a presidency, nearly ruined another and made sure that the American people knew what was happening, they have built a large following.

There so, when making a film about the Pentagon Papers, you must make sure that you are working with the best talent around. And, The Post definitely has that. Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and director Steven Spielberg come together to give an epic history lesson into one of the most famous journalists vs government stories ever.

For those who don’t know (don’t worry I had to do a lot of research into them too), the Pentagon Papers were documents investigating America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, which were commissioned by president JFK. Never meant to be seen by the public, The Washington Post released the news that the president knew that they could never have won it but still sent troops to fight in it.

Whilst most films would look at how the government handled the crisis, in an era when the media is under a lot of pressure, the film looks at how they handled the leaking of the truth back when they first discovered it. With Streep playing Kay Graham, the United States’ first female newspaper publisher and owner of the paper, who sadly lives under her dead husband’s shadow and Hanks playing Ben Bradlee, the executive editor, the film’s sees them continuously trying to satisfy the people in their personal lives, as well as the public.

Streep is fantastic as Graham, who spends much of the film shutting down those who make her seem weak. Never raising her voice to the men who are trying to stop her, Streep makes Graham powerful by showing that it doesn’t always come from raising your voice. It is the muted tones in fact that make her stand out. She has so much strength and belief in what she is saying that makes her actions the ones that people follow.

However, there is one downfall with Streep’s character, which is no fault of hers, and that is that she should have been in it more. Scenes should have been made with her at Bradlee’s home because I am sure she must have gone there. Or more scenes within the office. At times it felt like the character got lost amid the papers, her family life and the men on screen. By taking out some cheesy or unneeded moments, such as the bedroom scene with her grandchildren, her fight could have been expressed further.

Working alongside her in a partnership of dreams, Hanks uses his voices to highlight a different side to life. Hanks makes Bradlee seem like a man who can’t sit for too long. A man who has a job to do. Rushing around the workplace, his home and even Graham’s home on a mission. One that will give hundreds of people justice. Hanks is fantastic as always and falls right into the role with ease, which as soon as you see makes you think award nominee/winner.

Together, the pair works their magic to provide a story that has been touched on many times before. Spielberg’s work makes it seem like a prequel to All The President’s Men and the ending is a little bit OTT, but it will work for fans of the previous film. Hanks and Streep should have been a film pairing made a long time ago, yet it does feel like they have been waiting for this feature to work together. Both are great within it, it is just sad to see small moments and details cause issues around the sides. If it is trying to be like Spotlight than sadly it doesn’t succeed, but it is a film that will help those understand the paper's fight to release this hidden news to the public and the reasons they released it.

There so, I am giving it this front page…