By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Steven Spielberg’s “The Post” celebrates journalistic independence and courageous Katharine Graham, who put free speech ahead of friendship and business when she battled Richard Nixon’s vindictive White House over publication of what became known as the Pentagon Papers.
When insecure Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) inherited stewardship of The Washington Post after her husband’s suicide, she became the first female publisher of an American newspaper. Back then, the Post was just considered a regional publication.
In 1971, Defense Department analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) leaks top secret information to The New York Times, revealing a massive cover-up about the futility of the Vietnam War.
Furious over being scooped, Editor Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) senses an opportunity to elevate the Post’s national position when one of his reporters obtains a copy of the controversial study. But irascible Bradlee and his staff have only one day to sort out relevant information that the Times had for months.
Meanwhile, Graham is preparing to take her family’s cash-poor company public, knowing potential investors might bolt since she could be arrested and imprisoned for treason. And she has personal reservations, tied to her longtime bond with Defense Secretary Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood).
When The New York Times and Washington Post publish the Pentagon Papers, Nixon’s aides seek a court injunction, causing a First Amendment battle that ends up in the Supreme Court.
Scripted by Liz Hannah and Josh Singer, it’s sort of a prequel to “All the President’s Men” — as Streep and Hanks deliver powerhouse performances with an excellent supporting cast.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Post” is a terrifically timely 10 — with an urgency that reminds us that an assault on freedom of the press is a clear and present threat to American democracy.
In “Molly’s Game,” Jessica Chastain is sensational as the skier who became America’s poker princess.
After years of training to become world freestyle champion, Molly Bloom (Chastain) tripped on a twig at the Olympic trials, resulting in a severe back injury that curtailed her competitive skiing.
So Molly begins working part-time for a guy who runs a weekly high-stakes poker game in Los Angeles. Although her job pays barely minimum wage, the players are such big tippers that entrepreneurial Molly, having learned the intricacies of the game, decides to go into business for herself.
Eventually, her multimillion-dollar poker empire expands to Manhattan, where she’s so successful that, instead of exclusive, once-a-week games, she hosts them every night. That leads to hiring a bevy of glamorous female assistants who can attract richer gamblers — and a troubling alcohol/drug habit.
Molly’s celebrity clientele includes stockbrokers, hedge fund managers and movie stars; Michael Cera plays a character allegedly based on Tobey Maguire/Ben Affleck. More than a few men fall in love with her which is easy to understand since elusive Molly is really empathetic.
Not surprisingly, word reaches the feds, who bring Molly in on suspicion of colluding with members of the Russian mafia. That’s when she turns to defense attorney Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba).
Making his directorial debut, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (“The Social Network,” “Moneyball,” “Steve Jobs”), adapting Molly Bloom’s 2014 memoir, jumbles the timeline, beginning with Molly’s childhood, then the court case, followed by more back story revelations.
Sorkin blames Molly’s penchant for self-destructive peccadillos on her incessantly demanding, tough-love psychologist father (Kevin Costner) who eventually supplies “all the answer.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Molly’s Game” is a precise, precarious 7, a fast-paced biopic filled with sharp zingers.
Unless you find parental and domestic abuse amusing, the coming attractions are deceiving since “I, Tonya” is NOT a comedy — in any sense of the word.
Craig Gillespie’s glibly fictionalized, bizarre biopic begins with …”Based on irony-free, wildly contradictory, totally true interviews with Tonya Harding and Jeff Gillooly.”
To refresh your memory: back in 1994, figure skater Nancy Kerrigan was kneecapped by thugs, so that rival Tonya Harding could have a better chance at winning in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Scripted by Steven Rogers, Tonya’s story is told from several perspectives. There’s Tonya herself (Margot Robbie), her sadistic mother (Allison Janney), and her stupid ex-husband (Sebastian Stan).
As a 3-year-old in Portland, Oregon, Tonya was a remarkable ice skater. Her remarkable strength and athletic ability was exploited by the relentless bullying of her hypercritical mother.
Caricatured as “trashy Tonya,” her lack of refinement and working-class background were reflected in her costumes, hairstyle, choice of music and aggressive style. Yet, to the surprise of the skating world, Tonya became the first American woman to complete the triple axel in competition.
“Used to getting her ass kicked,” Tonya was attracted to an obnoxious suitor, Jeff Gillhooly, whose best pal was scheming, delusional Shawn Eckhardt (Paul Walter Hauser).
Although Tonya steadfastly maintains she had no part in the moronic kneecapping plan, she was subsequently found guilty and banned from competitive skating for the rest of her life.
While Margot Robbie delivers a remarkably dark performance, she refused to meet Tonya Harding before playing her, telling Variety, “I knew that if I met her and liked her, I would never play the character properly. I would be sugarcoating her flaws. I would be trying to justify the bad things she might say or do in a situation. I didn’t want to do that because I’m a people pleaser, and I know it.”
And captivating Allison Janney might bring home Oscar gold as the acid-tongued, least supportive mother-of-the-year.
On the Granger Gauge, “I, Tonya” is a flawed 5, just like its ferocious heroine.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
