THE OLD MAN & THE GUN

Robert Redford     Casey Affleck     Sissy Spacek     Danny Glover

Tom Waits     Keith Carradine     Tika Sumpter     Elizabeth Moss

     Charming, but incorrigible, Forrest Tucker’s sociopathic personality comes through when he meets a woman in a diner, and quickly wins her trust.  The woman is Jewel (Spacek), a lover of the simple life, horses, and the rolling fields surrounding her property.  He is evasive when she asks his name and what he does for a living, and he gives her his real name, which, at this point, is not broadcast in the stories about him, and finally lets her know that instead of “makin’ a livin’”, he believes in “livin’”.  It’s obvious that he has an admirable way of blending together truth and fiction into a believable story.  And like many who encounter Forrest, many suspect he is lying, but it doesn’t seem to bother them…because he’s so nice!

     The truth is that Forrest is a bank robber who has been imprisoned and escaped 16 times, beginning when he was just a kid.  It’s noteworthy that all the tellers who get robbed describe him as “such a gentleman”, “very polite”, a “nice-enough fellow”, and “happy.” He’s always well dressed and charming, encouraging them, and thanking them for accommodating him.  He and his pals, Teddy (Glover) and Waller (Waits), manage to get away with thousands of dollars.  They’re in the news, and even the police shake their heads, finding it preposterous that these old men are so capable.  

     Detective John Hunt (Affleck) is the beleaguered policeman charged with apprehending Tucker.  Although he seems to be as obsessed with being a good policeman as Tucker is about being a good robber, he is different in his self-doubts and struggles with his occupation.  His wife and superiors give him room to quit the force, but he determinedly stays on.  Even when the FBI intrudes itself into the case and he has a chance to step back, he doesn’t. Then he gets a tip that tells him exactly who Forrest Tucker is.

     Robert Redford pulls off this role in his usual expert fashion; probably no one else would be up to his personal aptness and level of skill.  It’s rewarding to see Sissy Spacek again in a role that suits her to a T as well.  Finally, Casey Affleck likewise performs as the kind of brooding character he has done so well in other films.  Danny Glover and Tom Waits make great sidekicks for the Redford character.  I was a bit disappointed there is not one of Tom Waits’ songs in the music.  Elizabeth Moss has a wonderful cameo at the end.  In a way, this film reminded me of David Mackenzie and Taylor Sheridan’s Hell or High Water in the nobility of the robber, but it kept up a level of excitement and humor a little more than is the case for this film.

     The script for The Old Man & the Gunis based on a true story, which was written up for The New Yorker Magazine by David Grann, who subsequently penned the script for this film.  Grann has a way of capturing his audience’s interest and maintaining suspense in his writing, just as he did for The Lost City of Z, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, and Killers of the Flower Moon:  The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.  In Director David Lowery’s capable hands, the movie becomes worthy of Robert Redford’s distinguished reputation in filmmaking, and a fitting tribute if it is indeed his last acting role.  Daniel Hart’s lyrical, moving score puts finishing touches on this fine production.

Charm is the name of the game in this engaging, suspenseful story.

Grade:  B+                                              By Donna R. Copeland

TRUTH

Cate Blanchett   Robert Redford   Topher Grace   Dennis Quaid   Elizabeth Moss   Bruce Greenwood   Stacy Keach

          This Truth does need to be told to remind us of the importance of solid investigative journalism at a time when so much news has become infotainment.  The film is based on a book written by its lead character Mary Mapes (Blanchett) entitled Truth and Duty:  The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power.  It gives Mapes’ account of a story she researched and produced on television’s “60 Minutes”, which questions President Bush’s service in the Air National Guard.  The first half of the film shows the painstaking efforts made by the CBS team to fact check their data to assure its veracity.  They sincerely think they are doing the best job they can as journalists.  Little do they realize the power of those who have competing interests in squashing such a newscast.  

          The coincidence of the story being aired during a Presidential election turns out to be meaningful.  Needless to say, it creates a firestorm of controversy.  Dan Rather (Redford), CBS’ news anchor reporting the story, is criticized, but nothing like the vitriolic attacks on Mapes, his producer.  Was it at least partly because she was a woman?  She had a reputation for aggressively going after stories, but initially CBS patted her on the back for this.  The film does a good job in showing that some of the things she is criticized for actually make her a good reporter. 

       But when CBS’ parent company, Viacom, enters the picture and begins to exert a strong arm over CBS—because of a competing interest—the writing is on the wall.  Rather sees it.  He bends to the forces and goes out gracefully.  Rather and Mapes are the best of friends/colleagues, but with very different personalities and backgrounds.  Having been abused by her father and well supported by her husband, she cannot resist a final major defense of the story (against her lawyer’s advice to mollify a committee stacked against her), which is not in her own self-interest.  But that’s a hero for you.

        Blanchett is clearly a star in this production—as she is in so many—by capturing the essence of the Mapes figure and empathically rendering it.  Her co-star Redford—while he does not physically resemble the newscaster—easily conveys the essence of Rather.  The actors’ chemistry onscreen is a valid reproduction of the deep connection between Rather and Mapes. 

        This is a film that will not receive its due primarily for political reasons, I think.  But it is well told even-handedly by writer/director James Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spiderman, 2012, 2014; Zodiac) and the actors. 

I am glad this account of Dan Rather’s undoing is being told, although it is a sad story.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland