REVIEW: TRUMBO
With my Breaking Bad poster, Walter White bobble head and crafted Heisenberg drinking mug, you could say I have a whole lot of Bryan Cranston splattered around my college dorm room. I've enjoyed the man ever since seventh grade, watching Malcolm in the Middle reruns on FX before the middle school bus picked me up. I would've been only 12 when Breaking Bad had its series premiere on television, but after catching up after I graduated high school, it was astonishing, (for hundreds of reasons). But one of the biggest achievements critics and fans point out so often was Cranston's ability to play the silly, childlike Hal, and then to troubled meth kingpin Walter White.
Cranston shows us why he's won a Golden Globe, 6 Emmys and 4 SAG Awards in the past several years, as he transforms (a lot of it is that gravely, smokey voice: I wonder did he actual smoke the cigarettes that he's inevitable seen with in nearly every scene of the film?) into blacklisted screenwriter Donald Trumbo. Hunched over and clad in those wonderful 50s and 60s suits, and the occasional Hawaiian shirt, Cranston is by far the best thing about Jay Roach's Trumbo, which has been getting a fair amount of awards attention since I saw it in late November. Bringing all the likability with none of the naiveté from Malcolm in the Middle and those moments of quiet intensity he mastered in Breaking Bad, I wouldn't be opposed to Cranston winning another golden statue, but a nomination seems more likely and just as warranted.
Roach, a veteran in comedy, balances the humor and drama in this film fairly equally. First time screenwriter John McNamara sometimes makes Trumbo a little too witty, like he's winking and giving this biting, showbiz lines to what was ultimately just a real person. At times I felt Trumbo was a bit too in love with itself, and its length, a little over two hours, seemed like much longer. As much as I champion Louis C.K. and all his ventures, he didn't do it for me. He had a much larger role in here than he's had in movies like Blue Jasmine and American Hustle, where he was the equivalent of mini-'s: a small dose and just enough to keep you wanting more. But he has to show some dramatic acting chops here, and the man himself admits that he's not a real actor. Michael Stahlburg shines much brighter as Edward G. Robinson, capturing his mannerisms wonderfully, and showing a side to him that I was unaware of. Mirren was fun as despicable gossip Hedda Hopper, but doesn't live up to the nominations she's been showered with lately.
A movie like this would seem to be right up my alley. I'm in love with learning about classic Hollywood. Here was a screenwriter I'm ashamed to say I knew nothing about, and one of the movie's plots concerns the Academy Awards! How does this not top my list? Maybe it's that Dalton Trumbo's life was just too interesting, too full of things that are put into a movie that still seemed a little long but somehow lacking of an understanding of the man Trumbo was, despite Cranston's magnificent efforts. But it's still got crackling dialogue, and it's wonderful to see Hollywood icons I've now grown up with being portrayed on the big screen, now immortalized as their own sort of legend. And I'm so happy that, as someone who one day might want to venture in this wild field, that a screenwriter who worked so hard and was treated so unfairly got his just desserts, and if Trumbo can serve those to him, that's an accomplishment no nitpicks can take away.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
Cranston shows us why he's won a Golden Globe, 6 Emmys and 4 SAG Awards in the past several years, as he transforms (a lot of it is that gravely, smokey voice: I wonder did he actual smoke the cigarettes that he's inevitable seen with in nearly every scene of the film?) into blacklisted screenwriter Donald Trumbo. Hunched over and clad in those wonderful 50s and 60s suits, and the occasional Hawaiian shirt, Cranston is by far the best thing about Jay Roach's Trumbo, which has been getting a fair amount of awards attention since I saw it in late November. Bringing all the likability with none of the naiveté from Malcolm in the Middle and those moments of quiet intensity he mastered in Breaking Bad, I wouldn't be opposed to Cranston winning another golden statue, but a nomination seems more likely and just as warranted.Roach, a veteran in comedy, balances the humor and drama in this film fairly equally. First time screenwriter John McNamara sometimes makes Trumbo a little too witty, like he's winking and giving this biting, showbiz lines to what was ultimately just a real person. At times I felt Trumbo was a bit too in love with itself, and its length, a little over two hours, seemed like much longer. As much as I champion Louis C.K. and all his ventures, he didn't do it for me. He had a much larger role in here than he's had in movies like Blue Jasmine and American Hustle, where he was the equivalent of mini-'s: a small dose and just enough to keep you wanting more. But he has to show some dramatic acting chops here, and the man himself admits that he's not a real actor. Michael Stahlburg shines much brighter as Edward G. Robinson, capturing his mannerisms wonderfully, and showing a side to him that I was unaware of. Mirren was fun as despicable gossip Hedda Hopper, but doesn't live up to the nominations she's been showered with lately.
A movie like this would seem to be right up my alley. I'm in love with learning about classic Hollywood. Here was a screenwriter I'm ashamed to say I knew nothing about, and one of the movie's plots concerns the Academy Awards! How does this not top my list? Maybe it's that Dalton Trumbo's life was just too interesting, too full of things that are put into a movie that still seemed a little long but somehow lacking of an understanding of the man Trumbo was, despite Cranston's magnificent efforts. But it's still got crackling dialogue, and it's wonderful to see Hollywood icons I've now grown up with being portrayed on the big screen, now immortalized as their own sort of legend. And I'm so happy that, as someone who one day might want to venture in this wild field, that a screenwriter who worked so hard and was treated so unfairly got his just desserts, and if Trumbo can serve those to him, that's an accomplishment no nitpicks can take away.
Rating: 2.5/4 stars
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