Happy New Year!

When have I ever made a movie recommendation on this blog?  Actually, never.  So, since I am doing that today, you know it must be with good reason.  “The Post” is terrific, a true must-see.  Not only is it riveting, suspenseful drama.  Not only is Meryl Streep fantastic.  The movie is extremely timely, in more ways than one.

I make this recommendation as someone who is normally extremely skeptical of its genre–the “fact-based” docudrama.  It’s a genre that lends itself to abuse–it enables the movie-maker to present a version of history that stretches or bends the truth, while pleading artistic license. And yes, partisans of the New York Times will complain that the movie seems to magnify the role of the Washington Post compared to the Times in the Pentagon Papers drama.  That complaint is fair, but of minor importance.   It doesn’t detract from the power of the movie’s major themes–the role of an independent press in a democracy, and the obstacles to gender equality in late 20th Century America.

Go see it.  You’ll love it.