The Post is a very inspiring and motivating film. This film didn’t quite have an all-star cast by name, but they did by talent. Steven Spielberg is one of my all-time favorite directors with his big hit movies in Indiana Jones,  Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan and The Terminal to name a few. Spielberg has shown his genius ability to put together a very talented cast and making his transitions between scenes look smooth. Spielberg has done it again with The Post. I have to think Spielberg working with the talent depths of Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and the incredibly talented supporting cast has made working on this film a joy.

Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep are tremendous in every film they participate in, but this is the first time I think I have seen them work together in a film. The chemistry between the two characters, Kay Graham, played by Streep, and Ben Bradlee, played by Hanks, is tremendous. Throughout the movie, Bradlee has always treated Graham with the utmost respect in every scene they were in by never truly overstepping Graham’s moments as the Publisher. When the spotlight laid on Bradlee, he ran with it, but kept himself humbled considering he was the everyday editor of the Washington Post. Streep as Graham was incredible.

In my opinion, Graham was the most developed character throughout the whole movie. She had a beginning, a middle and end story. At the beginning of the movie, you can understand the position that she is in because the Washington Post was going through a big transition as a company and everything was just happening so fast and she wasn’t quite ready to make decisions for the Post. As the film goes on, Graham is struggling to get a grasp of the situation that was happening with the New York Times, the friends she made relationships with over the years and dealing with her own company secrets that could affect her and the Post. When the biggest decision of her life came, she was able to come to her senses and committed to what was at the time, a really risky decision that could potentially not only affect her, but also the lives of other people she works with greatly.

The supporting cast around Hanks and Streep were very impressive, that it was hard to hate the characters that were on the opposite sides of Streep and Hanks. They all each played very understanding roles to their characters that, as a viewer, I could understand the pros and cons that were brought to the table. During their time, in 1971, it was very difficult time because of what was happening in Vietnam and how it affected the United States and their citizens. The government secrets were being leaked and needed to be brought to light, but it was a decision that brought a great challenge to Graham and Bradlee that they had to make. So when the time of the hour came, the biggest decision in the history of the newspaper company was made and it was a bold one.

This movie is truly a good one if you want to know the historical events leading up to what would then become the famous Watergate scandal involving President Richard Nixon. The past makes us who we are today as a society because, without truth and freedom of speech, the world we live in could have been in a different place. This was a turning point, not only in the newspaper industry, but also in the entire journalism industry as well.

As someone who graduated with a journalism degree, it was inspiring to see the true works of what journalism was about in the past. It was really intriguing to see journalists go the depths of putting themselves in danger to get the truth out. It was also really cool to see scenes of how a newspaper is printed. I would recommend people to go see this movie, although people will have different experiences than I did and that’s ok, treat this movie to your benefit and understanding.

Grade – 9/10

— Lucas Talbot

The Post is out in theaters!

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.