[yasr_overall_rating]
Newsroom drama detailing the 2004 CBS 60 Minutes report investigating then-President George W. Bush’s military service, and the subsequent firestorm of criticism that cost anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes their careers.
“Truth” tells its story based on the actual events surrounding CBS’s reporting of then President George W. Bush’s service, or lack thereof, in the National Guard during the Vietnam War. As we now know, the story fell apart on the basis of lies told by its primary witness making the documents at the center of the story essentially worthless in the eyes of the public and the heads of CBS. In the fallout, CBS/Viacom executives created an investigative panel essentially looking for a scapegoat. They found it in “60 Minutes” producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett), who was fired along with several others associated with the story. In the end, news legend Dan Rather (Robert Redford) apologized for the story under duress and resigned under a cloud after a distinguished career spanning over 3 decades. The film bases itself on Mary Mapes’ memoirs of the time, ‘Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power.’
The story presented in the movie is, like most film adaptations, a “basically how it was” retelling of events from Mapes’ point of view. The first half of the movie drags as she puts together her investigative team with Topher Grace as the down on his luck Mike Smith, Elisabeth Moss as researcher Lucy Scott, and Dennis Quaid as military specialist Lt. Colonel Roger Charles. Stacy Keach is steady as disgraced informant Lt. Colonel Bill Burkett. Playing his wife, and giving the film one of its most powerful moments, is Australian TV and film veteran Noni Hazelhurst.
Once the team comes together and the investigation takes shape, the events move so quickly they almost gloss over a major part of the story which remains the investigation itself and the way it is conducted. The series of short scenes feel like an extended montage designed to fit too much story into too little time frame. I would think a film about truth would examine truth in every phase of the story, not just the persecution Mapes and her team endured later on. The decisions which come under question aren’t fully explained. However, when CBS bosses start asking those questions and the show trial really begins, “Truth” becomes compelling in the best sort of way. Here the movie delves into Mapes and Rather, and the audience gets to know them as real people and feel the weight they bore.
As Mapes, Cate Blanchett remains wonderful, as does Redford in his portrayal of Dan Rather. They demonstrate well the special friendship and respect the two have for each other. Being from Texas, neither seems very Texan, but that’s probably because their jobs required them to seem more “All-American.” Their best work shows in the second part of the film as Blanchett deftly shows Mapes as a strong, independent woman who’s still vulnerable to her past. Redford’s best moments come as he shows Rather’s compassion for his fellow reporters and respect for Mapes and her work. However, although he has Rather’s mannerisms down pat, his slight almost imperceptible bit of Texas drawl is missing from his portrayal. The array of supporting performances includes masterful turns by many from Bruce Greenwood as CBS News Chief Robert Heywood to Connor Burke as Robert Mapes, Mary’s supportive husband. Grace gives his strongest showing in years, as does Quaid, though they have to work through some hokey dialogue near the end. Rachael Blake and Dermot Mulroney deliver as Betsy West and Lawrence Lanpher, two mid-management producers working hard to save their jobs.
James Vanderbilt makes a strong, though uneven, showing as writer and director. His screenplay relies too heavily on stereotypes, such as one scene where Mapes’ son is looking out the window at the row of media cameras pointed at their house. Mapes says, “Those people are not our friends,” just as a Fox News van rolls into view. Point taken. Again. At the same time, he manages to fit some strength into the most unexpected moments, like Rather’s refusal to ask some of the questions his superiors want him to ask of Burkett. Though I question his handling of the first half of the film, he gives the second half true power and thoughtfulness. Mapes knows the committee has little interest in finding the real truth. It was formed simply to cover CBS’s liability and find a scapegoat for the PR mess surrounding the Bush National Guard story. She also knows she’s the scapegoat. It’s here the film gets down to its most simple and elegant point: The truth is worth fighting for, no matter the cost.
“Truth” demonstrates the line between journalism and politics remains blurred, like almost every other line in America. Corporations see news as just another money-making entity, so they lobby to have their interests protected. News organizations, therefore, become tied to the political system, almost beholden to it even. So, while it’s true that most journalists keep their personal politics out of the news they report, they can’t always keep their corporate politics out. The public suffers because it doesn’t know who to trust anymore.
In select theaters now
