by Frank Calvillo
Back in 1999, when famed director Elia Kazan received an Honorary Oscar for directing such classics as On The Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire, a number of protesters were gathered outside the auditorium, while inside, attendees such as Nick Nolte and Ed Harris remained seated, refusing to even applaud the honoree.
The reaction to Kazan reached all the way back to the 1950s, when the director famously gave a list to the House of Un-American Activities Committee, which named a number of his friends and colleagues he believed to be affiliated with the communist party. It was a move that ruined many careers and lives and contributed to one of the darkest times ever in Hollywood, the impact of which was felt for decades to come.
Directed by Jay Roach, Trumbo revisits that bleak period in the film industry through one of its most notorious key figures.
Trumbo chronicles the life of Oscar-winning screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), who by the late 40s was considered the highest paid writer in Hollywood. With WWII ending and the fear of communism spreading throughout Hollywood from strong-voiced industry players such as Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren), Trumbo is labeled a communist and blacklisted from the industry. Featuring Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson and Diane Lane as Trumbo’s wife Cleo, the film shows how one man refused to let his life or his art be compromised and stifled against the greatest of odds in this re-examination of one of the most important parts of Hollywood history.
Roach approaches Trumbo with all good intentions, and succeeds for the most part in delivering an involving film which has the utmost respect for its subject matter. Yet there’s something of a lack of grandness to Trumbo which is just plain difficult to shake or accept given the film’s pedigree. Maybe it’s to do with flow, pacing or even Cranston’s unproven ability as a feature film lead, but Trumbo simply lacks that dynamic powerhouse vibe you would expect it to naturally contain.
Regardless of this, there’s no diminishing or glossing over the core importance of Trumbo’s subject matter. The film succeeds in showing how the blacklist affected everyone, from all aspects of the industry. Roach does a good job of bringing to light the feeling of desperation most felt when it came to their own survival, which led them to feeling like they had to turn their friends in. The film never justifies these decisions, but it does show how those who acted in such a way felt as if they had no other choice. It’s impossible not to feel sad and outraged when Trumbo’s family watches their father’s screenplay (written under a pseudonym after being blacklisted) win an Oscar. At the same time, though, Trumbo greatly reiterates the importance of free thinking and how the power of free thought is a right given to every man, woman and child and should never be surrendered, no matter the cost.
In spite of the subject matter’s darkness, Trumbo still manages moments of fun here and there, with the majority coming from the extremely witty screenplay. Trumbo is a film filled with clever dialogue with lines such as: “The radical may fight with the purity of Jesus. But the rich guy wins with the cunning of Satan.” Meanwhile, scenes of Trumbo having fun at the committee members’ expense and a scene featuring John Goodman as B-movie producer Frank King threatening a committee member with a baseball bat, add some much needed chuckles to the overall experience.
The proceedings tend to get a bit lost when the focus is on Trumbo and oldest daughter Niki (Elle Fanning), even though the pair do great work in their scenes together.
In fact everyone in Trumbo does stellar work, with each actor recognizing the importance of the film’s subject and injecting it into their performance. Special praise must be given to Stuhlbarg who gives a rich poignancy to his scattered scenes and Goodman, who delivers in more ways than one as King. Meanwhile, Mirren dominates every moment of screen time she has as one of the film industry’s most famous columnists, bringing to the forefront a ruthlessness which proves both entrancing and frightening.
Faced with the trickiest and most flamboyant part of his career, Cranston disappears into the title role and comes back with a gusto that’s like nothing he’s ever shown before. The actor nails the screenwriter’s fearless determination and quick wit as if he’s spent countless hours with the man himself. After coming off one of the most iconic television roles of the decade, it would be hard to find a role to show critics and audiences that an actor had more tricks up his sleeve. Fortunately, thanks to Trumbo, Cranston doesn’t have that problem.
Though it’s being released at the right time, there’s a strong chance that the film could get lost in the shuffle of other awards-hungry movies in the race for big prizes. However that isn’t the point of Trumbo. Giving rightful acknowledgement to a part of cinema history and honoring the people who suffered because of it is the sole purpose of Trumbo’s existence. Having this story told in such an effective way is victory enough.
