The Post

Disappointingly flat almost from start to finish, The Post details the true-life efforts of several newspaper men and women to expose a massive political cover-up. Filmmaker Steven Spielberg delivers an almost episodic narrative that’s lacking in an obvious entry point for the viewer, as the director’s decidedly dry approach to Liz Hannah and Josh Singer’s screenplay makes it increasingly difficult to connect to the scarcely-developed characters – with the movie, for the most part, coming off as a series of impressively staged yet entirely drama-free reenactments of real events. It’s ultimately clear, however, that The Post manages to stave off total irrelevance thanks mostly to its superior production design and stellar performances, with, in terms of the latter, Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks infusing their thin protagonists with far more life and vibrancy than the script affords them. (This is despite the fact that Streep’s Kay Graham is trapped within a wheel-spinning sexism subplot that feels fairly needless until the film’s third act.) Spielberg’s deliberate sensibilities do, at least, ensure that there are a handful of far-more-exciting-than-one-might’ve-anticipated sequences within the movie’s second half, as this portion of The Post boasts a sense of urgency that’s otherwise missing from the overlong proceedings. It’s a shame, then, that Spielberg undermines the final stretch’s effectiveness with a subtle-as-a-sledgehammer conclusion, and it is, in the end, impossible to label The Post as anything other than an extremely minor entry within Spielberg’s increasingly erratic filmography.

**1/2 out of ****