All The President’s Men

Based on true events, All The President’s Men follows Washington Post reporters Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) and Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) as they set out to uncover the truth behind a seemingly small-scale robbery. Filmmaker Alan J. Pakula, armed with William Goldman’s screenplay, delivers an erratically-paced drama that benefits from its authentic atmosphere and raft of above-average performances, as, in terms of the latter, Pakula elicits lived-in, completely compelling work from both Redford and Hoffman and a thoroughly top-notch supporting cast – with folks like Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, and Ned Beatty providing plenty of color within the picture’s margins. (Jason Robards’ engrossing turn as Washington Post executive editor Ben Bradlee remains an ongoing highlight within the proceedings, to be sure.) And although Pakula has suffused the narrative with several decidedly enthralling interludes and digressions, including a spellbinding unbroken, split-diopter shot wherein Woodward makes a series of phone calls, All The President’s Men‘s relentless focus on the protagonists’ dogged efforts (ie the movie is all plot with little in the way of character development) does ensure that it is, at times, a little difficult to comfortably follow (ie there are just so many names bandied about, ultimately) – which, when coupled with a somewhat abrupt final few minutes, cements the movie’s place as an uneven yet mostly rewarding endeavor that could’ve admittedly used some post-production streamlining.

*** out of ****

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