The Post (2017)
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The film depicts the high-stakes struggle of journalists at The Washington Post to publish the classified Pentagon Papers in 1971.
The story
Set in 1971, the film follows Katharine Graham, the owner and publisher of The Washington Post, and Ben Bradlee, the paper's executive editor. They face a monumental decision when they learn that the New York Times is preparing to publish the Pentagon Papers—a collection of classified documents regarding the U.S. government's involvement in the Vietnam War. As the Post's editors weigh the risks of legal retaliation from the Nixon administration against the importance of the story, Graham must navigate her own social standing and the professional integrity of her paper to decide whether to break the news and potentially face severe consequences.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The film begins in 1966 with Daniel Ellsberg, a U.S. State Department analyst, who leaks the Pentagon Papers to the press after becoming disillusioned with the government's handling of the Vietnam War. In 1971, Katharine Graham, the owner of The Washington Post, and her editor Ben Bradlee are faced with the choice of publishing these documents. Despite warnings from their legal team and the threat of criminal charges under the Espionage Act, Bradlee argues for the public interest of the story. Graham eventually gives the go-ahead to print. However, a procedural error by a reporter leads to a legal panic, and the paper must fight for its right to publish in the Supreme Court. The court rules in favor of the newspapers, and the film concludes with the publication of the papers and the subsequent beginning of the Watergate scandal.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Spielberg
- Writers
- Liz Hannah · writer; Josh Singer · writer
- Cast and characters
- Meryl Streep · Katharine Graham; Tom Hanks · Ben Bradlee; Sarah Paulson; Bob Odenkirk; Tracy Letts; Bradley Whitford; Bruce Greenwood; Matthew Rhys
- Genres
- political thriller; historical
- Themes
- freedom of expression; journalism; government transparency
- Tone and mood
- tense; serious
- Premise and plot tags
- biographical; historical drama; legal drama
- Source material / true-story basis
- true story
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 88% · scale: percentage · review count: 409; Metacritic · score: 83 · scale: 100 · review count: 51
- Awards and nominations
- Best Film · National Board of Review · 2017 · Winner; Best Picture · Academy Awards · Nominee; Best Actress · Academy Awards · Nominee
- Production trivia
- The film is the first time Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, and Tom Hanks worked together on a film.; Spielberg used real audio tapes of Richard Nixon in the White House.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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