Written By: Aaron Meyer
During the post WWII hysteria that lead to the communist Witch Hunt that was lead through the Hollywood hills, many screen writers, directors, and actors who identified themselves as Communists were banned from making movies. Afraid that hidden messages and Soviet Propaganda were strewn throughout the films that were released by these men, the films were either pulled or banned from being shown at local theaters.
Enter Dalton Trumbo. Dalton was one of these blacklisted screenwriters who believed in the values of Communism however believed that instead of being afraid of the ideas, that maybe instead we should embrace the good ideas that Communism offered. At one point in the film when speaking with his oldest daughter who asks him if he is a Communist outright, Dalton replies,
"If you were eating lunch in a cafeteria at school and while eating lunch you notice a fellow student not eating. Do you go over to that student and say, well why don't you get a job, or do you share your sandwich with the child? His daughter answered, of course I would share with them. Dalton replies, well you dirty Commie."Dalton no matter what persecution he faced during the Blacklist is determined to make people understand that just because they affiliated themselves with the Communist party didn't mean they weren't good Americans. Trumbo himself served in the military during WWII overseas. After facing Congress and using deflection techniques to answer the questions asked by him. Dalton and most of the Hollywood 10 found themselves ending up in jail after losing an appeal. Hedda Harper, who is a lead news journalist about the Hollywood scene, gets her joys by seeing the Hollywood 10 squirm and does her best to ensure that they suffer as much as possible so that she can write her stories, true or otherwise.
After leaving jail, Dalton decided to start writing under aliases for Frank King (played by John Goodman) to fix many of the crappy films that were released by King's Production company. Meanwhile taking up most of his free time and even having to utilize his own family members to help run his new secret business. Dalton is anything but a saintly rebel with a cause. Once working for King, he begins to neglect the relationships he has with his fellow family members. Trumbo turns into the monster he had to become in order to provide for his family and for moral fight against the film industry that exiled him.
The movie does a good job at portraying the time period. It's amazing how different the world of Hollywood was during that era. I couldn't imagine having to write entire scripts by typewriter and then deciding something wasn't good again and having to start over from the beginning.
Comedy is throughout the movie and Bryan Cranston does a terrific job as Dalton Trumbo. The only thing that bothered me was that in the beginning of the film I was very aware that I was watching Cranston portraying a character. It might just be because I was a huge fan of Breaking Bad when it was on, but other that that, the acting in the film was good. Even John Goodman did a great job as Frank King who believed in Trumbo enough to give him a chance to write for him, albeit, in secret from anyone.
This movie is quite obviously meant to be an Oscar contender later this year. Whether or not this movie has those kind of legs, remains to be seen. I personally don't believe that this movie is Best Picture worthy but none the less it is a good movie and one that people can learn a lot from in todays world, regarding modern day politics when it comes to personal beliefs.
Final Score: 4.5 / 5
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