Trumbo (2015) [Blu-ray]
Biography | Drama

Tagline: When they tried to silence him, he made the world listen.

The successful career of Hollywood screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, comes to an end when he's blacklisted in the 1940s for being a Communist.

Storyline: In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood's top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. TRUMBO (directed by Jay Roach) recounts how Dalton used words and wit to win two Academy Awards and expose the absurdity and injustice under the blacklist, which entangled everyone from gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) to John Wayne, Kirk Douglas and Otto Preminger. Written by Bleecker Street

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, February 10, 2016 Right or wrong or blended in some soupy gray area of morality, trust, conscience, and self-righteousness, man has always demonstrated a willingness to shun the whole to spite the part, to completely dismiss someone or something for one reason or another, even if everything else, in his or her estimation, comes up smelling like roses. Or it can be the other way around, to champion one thing or another for one particular reason, dismissing everything else as mere background noise or demonstrating single-issue bias and favoritism. It's seen all the time in online comments or heard all the time in water cooler or dinner table discussions, and usually centered on some hot-button political issue. "I'm boycotting store X because they don't support political cause Y." "I'm going to start shopping at store X because they support political cause Y." "I'm not voting for candidate X because she supports issue Y, though I love her stance on issues A, B, and C." "I'm voting for candidate X because I love her position on issue Y, but that doesn't mean I like her stance on issues A, B, and C." For most, it's less a crusade and more a personal choice that never makes headlines or has any real effect on the entities on either side of the equation. Occasionally, however, standing up for a controversial belief in the face of overwhelming disapproval of said belief can be a recipe for trouble. Mix in celebrity, the spotlight, and maybe even congress and national security and suddenly one man's values are a nation's enemy. That's the story of Trumbo, the movie influenced by the real-life events that saw acclaimed screenwriter and avowed Communist Dalton Trumbo "blacklisted," imprisoned, and forced to write Oscar-winning screenplays while tucked away in his bathtub and submitting them under pseudonyms.

Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) is a hugely talented screenwriter, but he's amongst the most disliked figures in Hollywood. He's a self-avowed Communist, a radical who loves his country but wishes to see it evolve. And at the height of the Red Scare, those ideas don't sit well with many of his industry contemporaries, including Actor John Wayne (David James Elliott) and Columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren). He's subpoenaed to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee where he's found in contempt and ultimately, for a time, jailed. Upon release and at the top of the infamous "Black List," Trumbo is forced to work under the table, penning scripts for B-level studios and gradually working his way back to the top, though without proper recognition for his widely acclaimed work.

Trumbo makes for interesting viewing. It's a highly polished film that boasts several strong performances, particularly from the Oscar-nomianted Cranston who carries the character with dignity and an almost, at times, hypnotic cadence of self assuredness in which he gently, but at the same time forcibly and occasionally humorously, talks down to those who would do him harm, in some form or fashion, for his beliefs in social justice. The movie plays a bit fast and loose with its history for dramatic value and tends to oversimplify key concepts, such as equating Communism with goodhearted kindness when he labels his inquisitive daughter a Communist for deciding she would share her lunch with another child that had no food to eat. In the movie's defense, however, it at several junctures attempts to differentiate "Soviet Communism" from "social justice," highlighting, for example, Trumbo's support of striking Hollywood set builders. But regardless of definitions and semantics, the film does well to balance a compelling broad narrative of a man who fights labels and legalities, its championing of inclusion, and sharing the broader history of the Red Scare and its impact on both Hollywood and Dalton Trumbo alike.

Trumbo's first half that deals with the political landscape and the character's place in it is sometimes compelling but occasionally drifts into trite storytelling and unimaginative maneuverings, but it picks up considerably in its second half that sees Trumbo working in the business but under the cover of figurative darkness, penning scripts first under pseudonyms for King Brothers Productions and crediting his work on Roman Holiday, for which he "won" an Academy Award, to another writer. Some of the movie's best scenes feature Trumbo and his family watching his scripts win Oscars, from home, and with another name attached to the trophy. It's almost surreal, and Cranston's performance in several such moments -- one of which differs from the others -- is astounding in his ability to convey just the right emotional pitch in body language, saying several different things in one reaction.

Trumbo is a more compelling movie in its second half, when it's less political and more personal, as it leaves behind the interesting, but nevertheless somewhat stuffy, political dealings and really focuses on a man writing some of cinema's best screenplays from his bathtub and crediting other names for his work. The movie's ability to take a broader historical subject and humanize it well beyond the dusty pages of history is incredible, made possible by a brilliant performance from Bryan Cranston. The movie has its weaknesses here and there, including an occasionally struggling pace and some dubious history and definitions, but it's an altogether quality film on most every other level. Universal's Blu-ray release of Trumbo features outstanding video and terrific audio but shortchanges audiences with only two throwaway supplements. Nevertheless, the release earns a recommendation.

[CSW] -3.7- I was completely aware of the "McCarthy era Witch Hunt" of that period and was actually annoyed ad nauseam with much of the first half of this movie (which I admit was needed for those not familiar with what took place during that particularly disturbing bit of U.S. history). "McCarthyism" is a term still used today but it is used more generally in reference to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents. However the second half of the movie more than made up for that annoyance. It was outstandingly well acted and a poignant history lesson about this nation's dark side that every American should be required to see. It is especially relevant how talent and truth will out. Those expecting the character of Dalton Trumbo to be a dynamic and charismatic leader might be a bit disappointed as his true talent was in his script writing and most of that, in this instance, was imbedded in his and others' dialogue. Though not quite soliloquies of Shakespearian eloquence he still managed to express himself in outstanding prose, although I will admit that much of it was spoken through his daughter and other minor characters (as though he were writing a script). If you listen carefully you may get more content than any of his actions provide, making this a thinking persons' movie.
[V5.0-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.


º º