The Post, directed by Steven Spielberg, tells the story of the Washington Post and New York Time’s battle to publish thousands of pages of classified government documents on the Vietnam War in the 1970s, against the will of President Nixon, and other high-profile officials of the time.
1. The film itself is not particularly thrilling.
The mind tends to wander amid scene after scene of anxious dialogue and industry jargon. Although the film starts with a misery of war shots, in all its stock high impact over-saturated montage glory, the rest of the film is lacking in major plot excitement.
The events of history, especially when requiring substantial context, are not always exhilarating. Sometimes there was simply a series of phone calls and dinner parties without the glamorous spy theme music and high-tech gadgetry. Given that the film attempts to follow history with any semblance of accuracy, this isn’t inherently the fault of the film, but rather of modern attention span.
The movie is serious but not dull; although the color grading is particular to that of serious historical pieces and dramatic suspense-thrillers, it contains lighter moments that feel more modern. This creates a unique sense of realism, escaping the confines of genre and diving into honesty – the film shows the human parts of every character: their uncertainty, their humor, their desire for peace, their fear, and the thrum of victory.
2. It is easy to connect with the characters.
The film tries to accurately portray the environment of the time. While the newspaper industry is male-dominated, women, including women of color, still fill in the background of every scene. While it may not be a victory for representation, it far surpasses even films not hiding behind a “historical realism” excuse. The film is surprising in its variety of women, and how those women define themselves and their strength.
The Post shows how women who fulfilled the social expectations of themselves were still strong.
In one particularly moving scene, Kay Graham, our protagonist and the publisher of the Washington Post, recounts her struggle in the workplace to her daughter, Lally Graham, who is played by Allison Brie. Kay reveals that she never imagined working, had never had to, until her husbands’ suicide. But her passion for the paper, for her family business, is what drives her hard work. The film presents her solid convictions and determination side by side with the mindset of the 1950s that Kay was accustomed too.
3. Kay is strong, but not revolutionary.
I feel the need to compare The Post to The Hunger Games, as Katniss Everdeen seems to be the epitome of a Strong Female Character ™. Kay is different from Katniss because she doesn’t want to revolutionize her world.
Kay wants to maintain her family newspaper business, for her children.
4. Kay wants to make good stock investments. She wants to speak freely in the boardroom, without the hesitation that comes with being told you can’t succeed.
Her toil is not rooted in saving those who’ve suffered under ruthless oppression. Streep’s performance showcases her fear and vulnerability, her uncertainty alongside her determination, her hesitation but also her humanity.
When Kay makes the decision to publish the Pentagon Papers, her statement is not a strong conviction to rally the masses. Instead, she stutters and hangs up before she can change her mind. In Streep’s performance, we learn more that bravery is a condition of fear.
Seeming to speak directly to modern millennial women, she admits that she thought that it was the “most natural thing in the world” for her father to appoint her husband to run the paper. Streep perfectly portrays a woman who was embroiled in the misogyny of the mid-1900s, someone who was forged and tested in a time when women were shunned from work in a post-war era.
Kay Graham was content to be a society woman and mother, almost appearing as a Mrs. Dalloway of sorts.
But Kay Graham also met the challenge of running the newspaper, of coping with her husband’s suicide, while facing everyday sexism and overcoming fear. In the beginning of the film, she fails to overcome her hesitation to speak her mind.
5. In the end, she succeeds. And she succeeds in the most human way – terrified of failure but still firm in her resolution.
Tony Bradlee, as played by Sarah Paulson, is a bridge character, whose purpose seems to be explaining to her husband, Ben Bradlee, played by Tom Hanks, why Kay Graham is a brave woman. She shows Ben what it’s like to be a woman, a working woman, a widowed woman, and to take risks like Kay is taking them. She doesn’t see Kay Graham as failing the company, but rather willing to risk everything she’s helped guard and build for the sake of the truth within the Pentagon Papers.
One particularly small role that stands out is that of Nancy, played by Coral Pena. In an interview with CBS, Pena discusses the importance of the creation of her character in a primarily white cast. Pena, despite her brief time on screen, showcases a particularly compelling performance. We see Nancy’s compassion, her desire to uplift other working women (despite being on the “other” side), and her rebelliousness. Nancy knows that she may face consequences in her career for supporting Kay Graham, but nevertheless, she is willing to take small stands for what she believes is right.
In The Post, we do see the typical strong and loud woman-taking-on-a-man’s-world in a couple minor female journalists at the Washington Post, but they seem to roughly contrast the performances of Streep, Pena, and Paulson.
As a whole, the film has strong performances from men and women alike. Tom Hanks and Bob Odenkirk both deliver outstanding performances. Hanks’ use of voice would be admirable, the way that he is able to transform and maintain such a distinct persona is impressive, but it also reminds me of Christian Bale’s Batman. The film finds moments of levity amidst the drama.
The industrial printing press exhibited in the film, through a mesmerizing and beautiful series of mechanical montages, is a lovely contrast to the humanity we see in the film. It also stands as a reminder of the cold reality of the machine – the constructed story, the things we leave out, the people we don’t talk about, censorship. The Post strives to tell a story in which there is no right way to be a woman, where feminism is about choice and bravery and supporting others.
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