Review: “Trumbo”

Falls just short of awards season expectations.

Trumbo is no Good Night, and Good Luck. It tries hard enough to be important and resonant, but ends up being important only to itself and in its own eyes. Which is a shame, as the story of the infamous Hollywood blacklist was quite compelling, and in a most universal way.

The great Bryan Cranston plays screenwriter / political idealist Dalton Trumbo with a wonderful earnestness, sense of humor and sensitivity. He starts off as stubborn and proud, willing to go to jail for his beliefs. Of course, he does, but never loses his cool or his perspective. Even when he’s seen taking pills to get through tough times, there’s never any doubt that he’s gonna write the wrongs his colleagues put upon him.

The weight of the story, however, may have proved too much for a single actor’s performance to make it to the end. Cranston does incredibly well, don’t get me wrong, never veering into silly impersonation territory and always showing off Trumbo’s personality through both witticism and body language, somehow carrying personal strife in his walk. The main hurdle would be in how the tale is treated, which, as I stated at the beginning, has a matter of fact feeling of righteous and pretentious importance to it. It’s out to take on the world, but the world has other problems to deal with.

Early on, Trumbo talks to a studio higher up about strikes and labor rights. It’s in reference to a fight that a group of film crew workers had with management, and how Trumbo would refuse to sit out of any such conversation. This scene shows the best and worst of the material. At its best, it defines the characters very clearly, expressing just who they are and the troubles they’ll soon get into. At its worst, it flatly and bluntly puts its message out on main street, shouting from the loudest barker. At its even worst, its message takes itself so seriously, you’d think it were about Civil Rights or Women’s Equality. Instead, it’s a small group of well dressed white men against another group of well dressed white men, in what is essentially a peeing contest played out in the courts.

The movie does make the point to show how much of a waste of time this scenario was, and how people’s lives and families were harmed in the process, but it’s overshadowed by its own hubris, and misses out greatly on capitalizing Cranston’s performance for all it was worth. The man’s movements, gestures and expressions told so much more than you’d expect. So much regret, so much pain, so much defiance, so much charisma. How could you fail to capture that? When your eyes are fixed elsewhere, it seems.

I see some nominations in Trumbo’s Academy Awards future, but few to no wins. Hollywood likes to be reminded of its past, wrinkles and all. This movie does just that, and mostly that. It’ll ride that nostalgia wave as far as it can, but not far enough or as far as it should. What would Trumbo himself have to say? Something brilliantly snarky, I’m sure. Would’ve only been an improvement…

2 / 5