Truth (2015)

This might seem a bit off topic, but I want to start by talking about my father. Here in Springfield OH, he has been a city commissioner since 1987 and was re-elected this week to his fourth four-year term as mayor. He was unopposed the last two times, and this year won re-election with 63% of the vote. He's been a pretty popular mayor. Yet the article about his election on the Springfield News-Sun website had comments such as these:

"Copeland, AGAIN? Please, someone put me out of my misery."

"What a shame. Springfield deserves better."

"CAN WE SAY TERM LIMITS?"

And this is for a popular politician.

There is a scene in Truth where the main character, Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) goes online and reads an ugly comments sections. The music swells, Mary gets emotional, and the words from the comments fill the screen. This is supposed to be one of the emotional moments of the film. My response was an eye-roll.

Seriously. This is a figure in news. There's a reason Honest Trailers in its Inside Out coverage referred to Anger, Fear and Disgust as "your average YouTube comments section". We are supposed to buy that a veteran news producer, who has been doing news work for years, who has just done what she knows is a story with political repercussions, is surprised by negative comments on the internet. Really?

I should be the target audience for Truth. I have an interest in journalism, and my political positions are liberal. Truth is about the CBS report in 2004 that George W. Bush went AWOL from his National Guard duties. Do I believe the story is basically true? You bet. Do I think the CBS team made journalistic errors in its report? That can also be true.

The film doesn't seem to get this. It is based on Mapes' book, and is completely on her side. The film seems to argue that sense the basic truth of the story is accurate that any errors can be forgiven.

This is a story that needs a subtle approach. Somehow I should have known that writer-director James Vanderbilt could not handle this. A writer with such quality scripts as Basic, Darkness Falls, and The Amazing Spider-Man was going to struggle with getting the story correct.

It's a darn shame. It's a fascinating story. The telling of it is always intriguing. The cast is incredible, not just Blanchett. Dan Rather, legend, is portrayed by Robert Redford, legend. Redford is able to carry himself with that amazing confidence that Rather has. I never minded that Redford doesn't quite look like Rather, because he got the attitude.

Two of the researchers, played by Topher Grace and Dennis Quaid, may the best thing in the film. Grace plays Mike Smith, the kind of guy who seems to see conspiracy everywhere. Quaid plays Roger Charles, a retired Lt. Colonel with a deep respect in the military. These two opposites earning each other's respect through hard work is the best part of the movie. Curiously, the third researcher, played by Elizabeth Moss, seems to disappear from the movie.

Ultimately, the film seems to exist as an indictment of how CBS News has become too beholden to its corporate interests to truly do its job. One problem with that conclusion: I already got that from The Insider, a great film.

This review comes out as a bit more negative as I meant. It is always watchable. But this is a topic which could have made a great film. It should have been a great film. Instead, it is merely watchable. It is a missed opportunity. Grade: C+