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In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood’s top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs.
Here’s something I never thought I would write – Otto Preminger might have been the funniest part of the movie. The iconic director is one of many Hollywood legends to show up in “Trumbo,” a telling of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s struggles against the infamous Hollywood Blacklist. The Blacklist is an indelible blot on Hollywood’s history, and one of the most visible byproducts of the Cold War, but “Trumbo” imbues the story with ebullience and charm, even as it plumbs the horrors of self-imposed censorship and paranoia.
Dalton Trumbo (masterfully portrayed by Bryan Cranston) wasn’t the only person whose life was upended by the anti-Communist fervor that swept the country after World War II, but his story neatly charts its chilling effect on Hollywood studios, and the culture at large. He was a member of the Hollywood Ten, the first group of writers and directors to be “blacklisted” (barred from working on films) by Hollywood studios, and the congressional investigation against Trumbo and his friends culminated in them being jailed for contempt of Congress. After his prison stint, he could only find writing work by drafting and editing uncredited scripts, until patience and calculation (and an Oscar win for one of his aliases, “Robert Rich”) helped him muster the regard to see his name attached to his work again; once filmmakers were willing to publicly hire Trumbo, any pretense of authority the Blacklist carried went up in a puff of smoke. It’s not an easy, or clear, path to victory, and “Trumbo” concedes that some of the writer’s determination could have stemmed from ego, not altruism.
“Trumbo” treats the witch hunt against Communists and sympathizers in Hollywood with evident contempt, but avoids demonizing its antagonists. The Cold War was a source of deep anxiety for millions of Americans, and the people who took up the cause to root out socialist influences in Hollywood were misguided – sometimes cruel, even – but they were earnest in their belief that they were agitating for a just cause. And not everyone who spoke out against Trumbo and his friends did so happily; the Hollywood Blacklist came together through studio capitulation and performers afraid to lose their livelihoods as much as by dogmatic tenacity. Helen Mirren plays Hedda Hopper, a virulently anti-communist gossip columnist and the film’s de facto antagonist (she’s portrayed as a sort of primogenitor to the ideological talking heads of our current cable and online media); she comes across as arrogant, calculating, and remorseless every time we see her, but even Hopper is depicted with enough depth to make her actions understandable, even if they are ultimately unforgivable. I’ll concede that the politicians in the film who subpoena our heroes and form the House Un-American Activities Committee are portrayed as crude, buffoonish bullies, but in light of our current political landscape, it feels like an apt representation.
The story could have felt like a slog – if you’re not an amateur film historian, you’re liable to miss most or all of the people and events referenced in “Trumbo” – but it’s buoyed through its sharp dialogue and consistent humor. Trumbo manages to be winningly glib even in the face of his darkest moments, and the film mines comedy from the dark absurdity of the Blacklist, and its odder consequences (a fight over who has to accept the Oscar for the “Roman Holiday” is hilarious). That being said, the film isn’t a comic breeze for its entire run time. The Blacklist, and the fervor that birthed it, devastated many lives, and not everyone recovered. Louis C.K.’s Arlen Hird is one of the funniest characters in the movie, until his guard comes down and we see the irreparable harm his association with the Hollywood Ten inflicted on his life. Even Trumbo, relentlessly witty and optimistic, struggles to maintain his resolve, and his survival is only achieved through a manic work pace that nearly destroys him. The period of the Blacklist was ugly and unforgiving, and “Trumbo” doesn’t diminish its impact. As dour as the film could have been, the presence of so many Hollywood legends and outsized characters galvanizes the story, making it impressively funny, even when the social tone it captures is grim. (John Goodman’s turn as Frank King appears in probably the best moment of the movie, which I won’t spoil here. Also, I think by now you’ve gathered that the acting in “Trumbo” is terrific, as even I’ve lost count of how many performances I’ve admired in this review.)
The social tensions that stemmed from the Cold War and produced episodes like the Hollywood Blacklist ruined lives. It’s a part of Hollywood history, a history so rich with glamour and theatricality that it can be easy to lose sight of how this fit of high-minded imperialism censored and imprisoned innocent men, solely because their beliefs were out of step with the majority’s. As much as “Trumbo” finds humor and charm in this bleak span of time, it should be commended as an incisive examination of how fear and unchallenged moral outrage can supplant our core values, and as a beautiful tribute to a writer whose persistence helped to revivify our commitment to free speech.
In select theaters in Dallas November 20th. Nationwide November 25th
