Truth (2015) Reviews

• Like All the President's Men, it's a riveting story.

  jdesando2015-10-28

  "Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism." Hunter S. Thompson Every journalism student should see Truth, a true version of a true event that included liberal CBS; liberal anchor, Dan Rather (Robert Redford); and liberal producer for 60 minutes, Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett). The latter two sacrificed their jobs possibly for the ideal of bringing down George W. Bush in his campaign to become president for the second time. The journalists thought they had a story about Bush slacking in his National Guard tour, but what they had was forged documents that eventually cost them their jobs and credibility. Mapes was the prime agent of the fiasco, pushing to get a story on 60 Minutes when it was too close to deadline and more substantiation was needed for the source and his documents. First-time director and seasoned-writer James Vanderbilt takes an almost cool approach, not quite as weighty as All the President's Men or as frenetic; the journalists young and old struggle with the profession's verity: Vet your stories and your sources until they bleed truth. Mapes and her vigilantes are up against a deadline, so more verifying of documents and sources is not possible. Thus, they should not have run with the story, but they did. Dan Rather, for all his experience as CBS news anchor, should not have trusted in Mapes' research, but he did. Most of all they should not have trusted Lt. Colonel Bill Burkett (Stacy Keach), who provided the documents purporting to show Bush's slacking. Because Burkett was a known liar and fervent Kerry supporter, no one should have trusted him before corroborating his information. Journalism students, beware of cutting corners on the road to truth. The film is an excellent primer on best practices. Truth is a classy, almost unbiased rendition of a true story, an entertaining thriller filled with first-rate actors. If there is one flaw, I submit for your consideration that the film is too reverent of Mapes and Rather, who made a blunder unworthy of their status and experience. They are more heroic than they deserve. As cautionary players on the big media stage, they are the finest examples of flawed human beings. "I think journalism gets measured by the quality of information it presents, not the drama or the pyrotechnics associated with us." Bob Woodward

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• Smart movie, stunning performances

  ozjosh032016-01-30

  Truth is a thoughtful, subtle, quietly powerful movie - something you don't see much of these days. Yes, it's about the rights of wrongs of a journalistic investigation, part All The President's Men, part Shattered Glass. But it is also charts what has happened to news in recent decades, in particular how it has become a game of "Gotcha!", as the real issues, arguments and truths get lost in superficialities that better lend themselves to headlines and 30-second grabs, and how the news agenda is buffeted by politics, corporate demands and entertainment values. The films chief assets are a smart, snappy screenplay and an another astoundingly nuanced performance by Cate Blanchett. If she had not won an Oscar nomination for her riveting performance in Carol, then she should surely have been nominated for Truth.

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• Never let the facts get in the way of a good story.

  codefool2017-05-04

  This is a very good film. The cinematography, writing, acting, pacing, and most everything else just works. Particularly satisfying is Redford's portrayal of Rather, while not an impression or imitation, treats the man with the respect which is his due. Based on Ms. Mapes's book covering the "Rathergate" scandal, it tends to cover both sides of the issue - was the story politically motivated? The film says "No!" but the words say "Yes!" It's left up to the viewer to decide - which is a welcome and refreshing movie experience in the days of Michael Moore leftist propaganda. The problem I have with the story is the constant assertion that the CBS 60-Minutes news team did no thing other than pursue the truth. This is not the case by the film's own revelations. The team starts off with a clue that George W. Bush was AWOL during his "privileged" tour in the Texas Air National Guard, and that he was "released early" so he could attend Harvard. At times it reads like Stone's JFK with conspiracy theories flying about and fingers pointing at enlarged documents on the wall, building this "solid" case that Bush was deliberately put out of harms way because of who he is while others died in Vietnam. While the film does touch on John Kerry's "purple heart" debacle - it fails to mention stronger issues such as Bill Clinton being the beneficiary of friends in high places regarding Vietnam. The 60-Minutes crew has just one problem - they can't find any collaborating evidence to support their theory. They call everyone they can find and it isn't that no one is willing to talk about it, but they are constantly told there is no story here and getting hung up on. "No stings were pulled" they are constantly told. Suspecting that everyone is afraid of Bush, and rather than "following the facts to the truth," they continue to dig, and end up finding Bill Burkett, who has copies of two memos that seem to suggest that Bush was AWOL from the Air National Guard. They don't say that, but it's what Mapes WANTS to believe, and so they go with it. AWOL stands for "Away Without Leave" which means a soldier who has orders to be at a post at a certain time was not - in fact - there at that time and in violation of those orders. A soldier is not AWOL if he is away WITH permission - something the film glosses over. That is, we never know if Bush has permission or not - just that he was not on base to be evaluated - according to the memos. They try to have the documents authenticated, and two of the four experts refuse to do it because they are not originals. Mapes pushes forward, backed by the belief that even if the memos themselves are fakes, the information on them is at least true, and that's good enough. They put the story together, and because 60-Minutes is being pre-emptied by - shudder, a Billy Graham crusade - they decide to push the story out in four days rather than - well - actually baking the story more before rushing it to air. According to the film, they were editing footage seconds before air time. But, it would seem, it was more important to get "the truth" out about Bush in the election year sooner than later, then say, do their jobs. Calamity ensues after the airing, with everyone pointing out the very obvious proportional fonts used in the memos, the fact that they were copies of copies, the New Times Roman Font, and a silly stunt about the super- scripted "th" which indicate that the memos were produced using Microsoft Word. They actually dig through boxes of documents looking for a super-scripted "th" to "prove" that it was possible in 1972 to have a typewriter with such a feature. Tap-dancing and straw- grasping at its most desperate. The film ends with an inquest, where Mapes defends the memos insisting that they must be real because of the intimate knowledge a forger would have to possess in order to create them, but then make the ridiculous mistake of creating them using Microsoft Word. That alone screams that the documents should not have been trusted, but Mapes did anyway because - well - you can't un-ring a bell and if it gets Kerry elected then it's all in being on the Right Side of History. Yet, it still doesn't excuse why the memo format wasn't questioned until it was pointed out to them. The punch line is that Mapes needed them to be true so they could smear Bush. Right or wrong, true or false, the story was run to smear Bush, which is NOT pursuance of the truth even if it should end up being the truth. The film never takes a solid position on Bush, and I think that's the point. What is the truth here? It's left up to the viewer.

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• Superb in every way--Do Not Miss

  rollingpix2015-10-25

  This is a terrific movie. Don't listen to people with an agenda who want to steer you away from this story. Excellent in every category. They don't make 'em like this very often any more. Yet of Redford's last 6 features, at least 3 are hard-hitting, honest dramas--this one, plus All Is Lost and Lions for Lambs. I have tremendous respect for his work. Blanchett is one of the best actors working now. Entire supporting cast is first rate, and I want to mention Rachael Blake and Andrew McFarlane as turning in superb work. The only thing that surprised me about the script was that Killian's secretary was left out of the story, and she confirmed that the content of the Killian memos was exactly as she remembered them--she agreed the typeface didn't look authentic to her, but the content was precisely what she typed for Killian. I remember because I saw the original 60 Minutes II broadcasts. Rather is a giant in journalism, and I still watch the CBS Evening News. It's still good, but at one time, CBS News was the finest news-gathering organization in the world.

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• Adding to my long list of favorite movies.

  thegirlwhosellsyoupopcorn2015-11-13

  Despite getting pretty crappy reviews and leaving the theater I work at in about a week without bringing in many customers I loved Truth. It is fascinating as a political commentary on journalism, the mistrust certain people have of feminists and liberals with the "bias", and the responsibility of reporters and sources to give accurate information. After seeing this movie I believe that no matter your thoughts on Dan Rather, Mary Mapes, or George Bush you will think this movie tells a great story. The question remains, were those documents false? Were they real? Does it matter? This movie doesn't care if they were real or fake, regardless they caused many problems in the lives of the journalists who reported this story. The actors do a great job. I was especially impressed with the performance of Topher Grace whose character Mike Smith is funny and relatable. "I'm eating ramen three meals a day," talk about truth! This movie is being bashed as propaganda by Bush supporters, most of whom, I assume haven't actually seen the film. I am adding Truth to my favorite movies. I am giving it a ten out of ten and wholeheartedly recommend it. Please note that this is a reflection of my personal opinion, not paid for or influenced by any company affiliated with the movie Truth and that, while I am a proud employee of a national movie theater chain the views and opinions expressed on this blog are mine and not necessarily a reflection of the company where I work. This review originally appeared on my blog.

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