A review of Truth (2015)
By David M. Farrington
David ‘n the Dark Rating: 8.5/10
Mike Smith: Why did you get into journalism?
Dan Rather: Curiosity. Why’d you get into it?
Mike Smith: You.
These three simple lines cut right to the heart of Truth, the new movie from established writer and first time director James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man). The news used to consist of hard hitting investigative journalism, a public service that would expose relevant stories to shed light on the true condition of a deceptive world. Now, instead of covering stories like The Watergate Scandal or what was really happening in Vietnam, newscasters have become mouthpieces. They have become the personalities on TV who we look to for a recap of what happened last night on American Idol or what President Obama had for breakfast this morning. Truth attempts to shed light on the corruption of investigative journalism by corporate greed and political agendas which make it impossible for respected newscasters and their producers to do their jobs, and in so doing it shows us a dangerous future of smoke and mirrors that is already taking hold. Despite some of the film’s minor faults, Truth is a beautiful and moving Requiem for The News.
Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford
When a scandal does come along that could rock the foundation of American politics, such as the surfacing of the so-called Killian Documents, there are factions that will try to kill the story no matter how much evidence of proof exists. This is the story of Truth, based on the book written by long time 60 Minutes producer Mary Mapes. In 2004, just a few months before the Presidential Election, former Lt. Colonel Bill Burkett (Stacy Keach/Nebraska, American History X) revealed to Mrs. Mapes (Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine, Cinderella) that he was in possession of Xerox copies of documents created and signed by Lt. Colonel Jerry B. Killian, George W. Bush’s commanding officer in the National Guard. These documents showed that Bush was given preferential treatment in his admittance to the National Guard in order to avoid service during the Vietnam Conflict and that he may have still gone AWOL during his time under Killian’s command. Or did he? Through a number of deceptions and twists and turns, it comes to light that the documents may have been forged, that Mapes, Dan Rather (Robert Redford/The Sting, A Walk in the Woods) and the rest of their team may have been deceived and rushed to air the story without due diligence in verifying the authenticity of these documents. Of course, if the news wasn’t being preempted by a trivial Dr. Phil Special they would have had more time to corroborate their leads. A committee is created to look into Mapes’ team and their possible wrongdoing in reporting the story and, in spite of all of the evidence which corroborates these documents on a logical timeline even as their authenticity is in doubt, all anyone wants to talk about is the documents and not the heart of the matter: Were we lied to by President George W. Bush and was there a conspiracy to cover up his wrongdoing that reached as far as the top ranking commanders in the National Guard?
Robert Redford
Vanderbilt’s screenplay shines in a two act structure and his direction pushes the story along at a captivating pace, even if the initial setup is a bit clunky,. The first act of Truth quickly and aptly introduces our cast of characters and the race to air the story of the Killian Documents and how the team tried to authenticate the evidence. Vanderbilt’s dialogue is quick, crisp and natural as the team tries to beat the clock. This works very well in establishing the stakes and obstacles that Mapes and her cohorts face, but so much information is uncovered so quickly that it becomes a little confusing, especially since many of the names we hear are people that are never seen on screen. Richard Francis-Bruce’s (Se7en, The Shawshank Redemption) instinctive editing flashes to names on a dry erase board and back to Mapes on the phone and to the documents in just the right way to help us follow the story, but even his beautiful work isn’t quite enough to help us fully understand what’s going on. The second act of Truth takes us on the more personal and frustrating journey of the repercussions the team faces after the story airs. The pacing slows down a bit here (and so does Francis-Bruce’s breakneck editing) as we want it to in order to empathize with the more emotional lives of the characters and Vanderbilt’s dialogue begins to truly shine. He has a gift for letting poignant lines such as “they can’t smack us just for asking the question” land in a natural way when in the hands of a lesser writer we would roll our eyes at the overt indication of theme.
Elizabeth Moss, Cate Blanchett, Topher Grace, Dennis Quaid
Of course, it is also thanks to the wonderful talents of Cate Blanchett, Robert Redford and the rest of the cast that these lines land with the ease that they do. Redford fully embodies the role of Dan Rather, perfecting an imitation of his speech patterns and tone and wonderfully capturing the joviality behind the solemnity of his profession which caused the nation to fall in love with Rather in the first place. The supporting cast also rises to the challenge, adding their own personal touches to Vanderbilt’s mostly archetypal cast of characters that Mapes assembles. Elizabeth Moss (Queen of Earth, Girl, Interrupted) adds a touch of fear and doubt to the otherwise confident and organized journalism professor who is running point on the investigation. Dennis Quaid (Traffic, Far From Heaven) finds the bits of humor in the normally straight laced and severe Lt. Colonel Roger Charles, and Topher Grace (American Ultra, Interstellar) plays the hipster/hippie researcher with just the right balance of drive and insecurity of a young man given the opportunity to hob nob with his personal heroes.
Cate Blanchett
As always though, it is Cate Blanchett who truly turns heads and deserves every accolade. As Mapes, Blanchett delivers an impassioned performance that embodies the theme of the film without becoming a cliché mouthpiece for Vanderbilt’s message. Written as a strong woman who makes no apologies, Blanchett has taken clues from the text as to Mapes’ personal and professional backstory and created a complex woman driven to succeed. The truth is what is important, no matter what the cost, and we watch this quest for truth in the face of impossible odds take its toll on a woman who manages to never quite lose her elegance, power and sense of self-worth. Blanchett has already won two Academy Awards with a total of five nominations, and with not a false moment in her delivery, she does not disappoint once again.
Vanderbilt’s attention to detail and character development (especially Mary Mapes) in the screenplay is wonderful. As director, I wish that he had given the same attention to character continuity in the visual world of the story. It seems that sometimes he and cinematographer Mandy Walker (Jane Got a Gun, Tracks) were more interested in the beautiful composition of the shot than in how a particular setup would contribute to the story telling. For example, there is a scene in which Mapes is lying on the bed, staring into space seemingly lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly she receives an IM on her laptop from Dan Rather. The IM is the point of the scene and does much to establish the Mapes/Rather relationship, but until now we have never seen Mapes stop moving. She is set up to be a busy body who is constantly working at the expense of her family and her own health, so why are we suddenly treated to a shot of her taking a break? It contradicts the character development that has been set up and, though Cate Blanchett fills it with an honesty, it is a bit jarring to us. Similarly, when Dan Rather says goodbye on the final episode of 60 Minutes, there is an insanely long slow motion shot of him turning away. It is indulgent and (again) out of keeping with the character as he has been written. I understand that the nation is saying goodbye to Dan Rather and by thematic extension we as the audience are mourning the death of investigative journalism, but one moment of melodrama stands out as inconsistent with the overall tone of the film.
Cate Blanchett
Vanderbilt has obviously made Truth a labor of love, but with small inconsistencies it seems that he has bit off just a little more than he can chew as a first time director. It is still a valiant effort worthy of note though, and Blanchett and Redford do much in their performances to help us overlook the small faults in the story telling. At the end of the day though, Truth is a relevant and touching story, a warning about information and misinformation in the news as broadcast under the veil of corporate greed and political agenda. It is a moving requiem for television news, a much needed avenue for investigative journalism that is fading away. I just hope that history will remember Truth as the movie that shed a light on corruption in reporting and revolutionized the genre rather than as an ode to a dead form of needed transparency.
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As always I would love to hear your thoughts on “Truth” and this review. Please feel free to share and/or post in the comments below!
Truth Trailer
David 'n the Dark 