In “Pentagon Papers”, a film directed by Steven Spielberg in 2018, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep play two seasoned journalists in search of the truth. A film not to be missed on Netflix.
It’s a nice new feature that arrives this April 16 on Netflix. Subscribers can rewatch or catch up today on Pentagon Papers, a film with a five-star cast that revisits a political affair that made headlines in the 1970s.
Meryl Streep plays Katherine Graham, the first female publishing director of the Washington Post, who teams up with her editor-in-chief Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) to unveil a monumental state scandal and catch up with the New York Times who conducts his own investigations.
These revelations concern the maneuvers of four American presidents, over thirty years, intended to cover up very sensitive matters… At the risk of their careers and their freedom, Katharine and Ben will have to overcome everything that separates them to reveal to the public day of long-buried secrets…
An ode to press freedom
If Pentagon Papers is interested in a very American affair – that of American political and military involvement in the Vietnam War, this brilliant film directed by Steven Spielberg is above all an ode to freedom of the press and highlights honor the work of journalists, who have staked their reputation and their lives to bring the truth to light.
In the same way as Pakula’s The President’s Men which revisited the Watergate scandal, the film plunges us into the heart of two editorial offices which find themselves faced with a difficult choice when they get their hands on nearly 7,000 pages of report: unveil the truth to the public or protect themselves from any lawsuit.
A woman in an ocean of men
Told from Meryl Streep’s point of view, Pentagon Papers is also the portrait of a strong woman, who stakes her career and her notoriety on a decision. The actress shines in the role of Katherine Graham, the only woman in a man’s world. When the affair begins to make the front page of her main competitor (the Times) and her newspaper’s sales are declining, she shows that she can stay the course in the face of adversity. Her duet with Tom Hanks – previously unseen on screen – is one of the main strengths of this film which is resolutely feminist.
The precise dialogues, Spielberg’s simple but careful direction and the accuracy of the acting make this political thriller the new essential film in the Netflix catalog.