Alan Pakula's ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN is essentially a crime procedural that replaces cops with reporters. Winning four Oscars and nominated for four more, the Watergate investigation film was added to the 10th anniversary edition of the AFI Top 100 American films list. Bolstered by subtly in every aspect, the production is a marvel in that it works at all. At 138 minutes, it's dialogue driven, dozens and dozens names are thrown around constantly. But William Goldman's Oscar-winning screenplay keeps us on track and Pakula and editor Robert Wolfe (both nominated for Oscars) keep the pacing crisp and exciting. Additionally, it's what Hitchcock always said — an audience will always sympathize with a character that does their job well. Woodward and Bernstein did their jobs very well.
The Watergate break-in story began as a local Washington D.C. report. Newbie reporter Bob Woodward (Robert Redford, THE STING) thought it was strange that burglars would have high-paid lawyers. He writes up the item, but it's taken off the copy editor's desk and rewritten by Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman, THE GRADUATE), who has more experience. Metro editor Harry Rosenfeld (Jack Warden, 12 ANGRY MEN) fights to keep the two young reporters on the job when bigger implications grow. Exec publisher Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards, MAGNOLIA) sticks his neck out for the boys, excited by a major story that could take down a president.
The movie observes Woodward and Bernstein doggedly following lead after lead. The duo thinks up crafty tricks to get more information out of sources. Woodward makes late night meetings in parking lots with a White House insider known as Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook, INTO THE WILD). Bernstein works his way into the house of Republican campaign worker Judy Hoback (Jane Alexander, KRAMER VS. KRAMER), who is smart, bitter and scared about what has happened. We get frustrated when leads don't pay off. We get excited when the conspiracy moves further and further up the chain of command. We bite our nails as the reporters rush to get additional confirmations just in time to make the next edition. The fact that we know what happens and that the film still retains the power to grip us attests to skill in which it was crafted.
Redford and Hoffman are perfect as reporters desperate for the truth and hungry to make names for themselves. The film never takes time to peak into their personal lives, but maybe that's the point, they were living and breathing journalism during the case. The acting recognition actually went to Robards and Alexander. The former won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for a grizzled newspaper veteran who risked a great deal, professionally and personally, by putting his faith in team "Woodstein." Robards matter-of-fact delivery brings some of the most poignant and funny moments in the picture. But also watch for his subtle excitement when they get big breaks, he hasn't been completely consumed by cynicism. Named for Best Supporting Actress, Alexander's Hoback provides the reporters with key information, but she doesn't give it easily. You believe that this is a woman whose faith in the system has been shaken and feels resentment because of it. She represents the collective feelings of many Americans in regards to Watergate.
Painted with shadowy, deep focus cinematography, the film works and feels like a thriller, but there are few typical thrills present. Redford and Hoffman's passion for their history changing work fuels the thrills for this story. The ending is pitch perfect as Woodward and Bernstein type away in the background as Nixon's second term swearing in plays on the TV, followed by a typewriter pounding out the news of the various convictions and finally the resignation of Nixon. In this age of newspapers cutting staff and becoming more and more like PR tools for their corporate owners, this film holds out hope for real, meaningful journalism.
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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
