The poster for Truth shows Dan Rather (Robert Redford) sitting at a news desk, looking like he just saw a ghost, with Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) placed in a picture atop him, looking like she's ready to explode. This is both an inaccurate and accurate portrayal of the film from the start. The film (based on Mapes's account of the story) is much more of the Mary Mapes story and barely even covers anything about Dan Rather. I suppose it's only natural that a writer such as myself has been somewhat influenced by Rather and Mapes's complete breakdown of what reporting is. They changed the face of journalism and showed that reporting the facts is not always reporting what people want to hear. However, Truth turns their story into a bland, overly preachy drama that does nothing to show the inherent intensity of the situation.
The film introduces Rather rather quickly, complete with exposition about his life by CBS president Andrew Heyward (Bruce Greenwood.) Quickly, it jumps into Mapes deciding to run a smear campaign of sorts about President George W Bush. She gathers a group of writers and researchers including a military man (Dennis Quaid,) a tabloid writer (Topher Grace) and an English professor (Elisabeth Moss.)
What transpires are multiple scenes in which a character just has to take a break in the action to deliver some sort of speech about the moralities of journalism. Quaid gets a few, Grace gets a few, Moss gets a few before the film forgets that she was even introduced. There's no rhyme or reason as to why one character would be making this speech at this particular moment. Rather, these moments just happen with an uneasy flow. Redford and Blanchett are excellent because they have no choice but to be. However, they, along with the rest of the cast, look like they would rather be anywhere else. There's been some complaints that Redford is not believable as Rather but he does a fine enough job of creating his persona and certainly has the voice down. Grace especially sticks out like a sore thumb, trying to convince the audience that he would ever be a journalist and failing miserably.
Naturally, the director is a first timer, James Vanderbilt. He also wrote the script. His other writing credits include the 2004 John Travolta thriller Basic, Darkness Falls, The Losers (the 2010 action flop) and both The Amazing Spiderman films so clearly this film didn't exactly book a master class to make this film. As a director, he handles the actors well enough but considering the level of talent here, he wastes them to a large degree. Also, the film is ugly looking form start to finish and has absolutely no energy to it.
Truth could have and should have been a great film about a fascinating story. However, it turns out to be just another failed attempt to dramatize an inherently filmic and energetic story. I imagine this film with Danny Boyle directing and Aaron Sorkin writing and assume i would be incredible. Speaking of which, just go see the far superior Steve Jobs instead of this dull as ditchwater mess.
(1 and 1/2 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for language and a brief nude photo)
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