The embargo for posting the sentiments on social media have been lifted last Monday night for Steven Spielberg’s The Post and the critics, who were fortunate enough to see the movie first, wasted no time on tweeting their reactions. Gladly, the consensus seems to be mostly positive.
The Post centers on a cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents which pushed the country’s first female newspaper publisher, Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) of The Washington Post, and its hard-driving editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government in publishing the Pentagon Papers.
Most of the reactions have been positive. There were praises for Spielberg’s direction and the performances of Streep and Hanks. Streep’s performance in this film was called as one of the best in her career. The reactions also praised the score, cinematography, and the performances of the supporting players, particularly Bob Odenkirk, who played Ben Bagdikian in the film. They also noted the timeliness and the importance of the film on today’s social climate and they considered it as Spielberg’s best film since Munich.
Here are some of the tweets by the critics praising the film:
The Post might be the most timely film Spielberg has ever made. It is so relevant to our current political moment in its takes on freedom of the press and sexism. It's his best since Munich and an all time great Streep performance as well. Expect lots of deserved nominations.
— Will Link (@TheRealWillLink) November 26, 2017
The Post is a reminder why Spielberg is a legend in his own time. It's his best and most engaging film in years, and offers a slew of great performances led by the always dominant Streep.
— Jeremy Kirk (@JeremyKKirk) November 28, 2017
I pretty much loved THE POST. Streep: Her best perf in years. Hanks: Delightfully irascible. The rest of the cast: Great. I expected its depiction of journalism to feel vital & sentimental. I did not expect Spielberg to make his first overtly feminist film since The Color Purple.
— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) November 28, 2017
The Post is an important film, not just to history, but to the now. Streep is amazing. My audience broke into applause at least 6 times during the movie itself. Spielberg’s best film since Munich.
— Peter Sciretta (@slashfilm) November 28, 2017
Although, film critic Eric Vespe gave mixed reactions to the film. He praised the cast and the timeliness of the film, but called it “a kind of a snooze overall.”
The Post benefits from a great, likable cast and a sadly timely reminder of the last time a president tried to villainize the press. However it’s super on the nose, incredibly slight and kind of a snooze overall. Felt to me like Spielberg was on autopilot.
— Eric Vespe (@EricVespe) November 28, 2017
Surprisingly, there were some reactions that mentioned Odenkirk as the film’s standout in the supporting cast. It wouldn’t be surprising if he will emerge as one of the Best Supporting Actor contenders in the coming weeks.
Great turns, riveting tick-tock, Spielbergian to the brim. THE POST is best of all a vital and timely reminder that a free press must remain free, and that the burden to protect that freedom belongs to everyone.
Also: You know Meryl's good but MVP = Bob Odenkirk
— jen yamato (@jenyamato) November 28, 2017
#ThePost: there’s good timing and then there’s GOOD TIMING. The story is a mirror image of our current day. Everyone has their A game including Hanks and Streep. Odenkirk is a standout. While not the best of the year should be high on plenty of ballots making it a heavy favorite.
— Max Covill (@mhcovill) November 28, 2017
Bob Odenkirk is outstanding in THE POST. He alone is worth the price of admission.
— John Cohen (@JohnCohen1) November 28, 2017
In the official forum discussion of the film on GoldDerby, member CitizenBlake, who was also able to watch the film, stated that “Odenkirk won’t be a major player, but he certainly deserves praise, along with the rest of the ensemble. He delivers the best performance of the supporting actors IMO as well.” With the reactions in, besides Spielberg, Streep, and Hanks’ possible nods, we should also consider Odenkirk as one of the contenders for Best Supporting Actor given the reactions. If he will ever get an Oscar nomination, it would be in the vain of Jonah Hill when he got nominated for The Wolf of Wall Street.
There’s no doubt on considering The Post as one of the Best Picture contenders at the Oscars. The film might not be called as the best this year, but most reactions called it as the most important. If we will follow the trend of the Oscars on awarding Best Picture, The Post should be a safe bet. During the past two ceremonies, films with socially relevant issues triumphed. It happened with Spotlight winning over The Revenant and Moonlight winning over La La Land. Given the timeliness of the film, The Post should be considered as a serious Best Picture contender at the Oscars.
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