Films > Film Reviews

Trumbo

25/02/16

By the book, but still fascinating, this biographical drama tells us about a man that some know but plenty won’t have. I’m a film fan but I’m ashamed to say I hadn’t heard of Dalton Trumbo and the prejudices he was party to. This is a good looking film with a proper good lead but it’s not always engaging.

Screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) is a well voiced member of the Communist Party of the USA. With it being 1949, and Russia no longer an ally thanks to threats of Cold War, Trumbo is soon blacklisted and imprisoned for his stance though that doesn’t stop him writing some of the most loved movies of the classic Hollywood era.

John McNamara has a lot of history with television writing/producing and perhaps that’s why this feature feels or rather sounds like a TV movie. It’s an interesting film to a point, mostly from learning about this incredible man but it doesn’t gleam like a cinematic gem, more a small screen filler.

Jay Roach gives this film a good twist of light even amongst the darkness of Trumbo’s forcably secretive writings. There is a spectacle involved as we see him creating Oscar winning movies and the effect of that on people on both sides of the party he belongs to. But for me the strongest element of the movie isn’t the factual elements but the charisma and heart seen from the actors.

Bryan Cranston embodies the hunched writer with mustachioed skills; he is the true decorative trophy on this film’s mantelpiece. Cranston does great things in making you look past the uneven tone of the film and the televisual atmosphere it presents because he has energy and a spark of wit and talent just like the real life Trumbo. Michael Stuhlbarg shines as Edward G. Robinson, looking the part and giving a dramatic urgency to his role. Diane Lane is the sturdy rock of this film, always there even when she fears the man she loves is turning. Louis C.K is smart and funny as the balance to Trumbo’s persona, though weirdly he’s a fictional character, which doesn’t help in making this film feel less terrestrial. Helen Mirren wavers in her accent, sounding British from time to time but she never drops in being the bitchy headline-writing queen.

This is less a must see and more a film that’s only recommended for people that admire The Cinema and the behind the scenes talent that produced the sparkle of Hollywood of old. Otherwise it’s a film with great acting but a pedestrian TV vibe.

6/10