Trumbo - A man who wouldn't be silenced

A few weeks ago, some friends and I went to the cinema. We did not know which movie to watch, so we settled for the sneak peek preview. And oh, boy, were we in for a surprise! None of us had heard from the movie we were going to watch: Trumbo. Neither did we know that Breaking Bad-Star Bryan Cranston would play the main role!

When we realized what kind of movie this would be, we were skeptical. We had not come to the cinema with the intention of learning about a communist screenwriter living and working in America during the 1940’s and following. We were not sure if we were in the mood for ‘something intellectual’. 

The story is concerned with Dalton Trumbo, a man who believes in fair wages, but who does not want to give up his privileges at the same time – a moderate socialist, you might say, but nevertheless a member of the infamous “Hollywood 10” (alleged communists in the movie business). Thus, he is considered a radical and a public enemy. Trumbo has to endure public shaming, first and foremost led by journalist Hedda Hopper (well portrayed by Helen Mirren), whose slanderous reporting inspires one angry viewer to shove his drink in Trumbo’s face.

Trumbo defending himself. Source.

A little bit later, when famous movie star John Wayne (David James Elliot) tries to lecture Trumbo on being a true American, Trumbo embarrasses him, reminding him that he, unlike Trumbo, never fought for his country during WWII – only on screen. As Trumbo notices that Wayne is on the verge of exploding, he just says: “And if you're going to hit me I'd like to take off my glasses.” Wayne walks away, leaving a baffled crowd, both on and off screen, behind. 

If anything is clear from that scene on, it is that Trumbo is not only brave, but resilient. A short clip from the real Trumbo's testimony given during the hearings in front of the House Committee on Un-American Activities gives you a good idea of Trumbo’s chutzpah in the face of his prosecutors. Cranston masterfully revives this one of the most daring testimonies of history, comparable to Oscar Wilde’s passionate speech in his 1895 trial. 

Official Trailer

Later on, Trumbo is convicted – without having committed a crime. The movie succeeds in portraying this little known director both as a humble and – most of all – truly sympathetic hero, certainly influenced by his two daughters, Nikola and Melissa, who were involved in the writing of the film. The importance of Trumbo's story can hardly be overstated, for it depicts the American Nation when it had just defeated a great evil – Nazi Germany – but instantaneously became oblivious to its own oppressive power during the McCarthy era.

What the movie falls short of, however, is to keep up its very interesting start. By the end, watching Trumbo’s biography feels a little tedious. However, the actors’ great performances make up for it, and if characters sometimes seem comical (most notably B-movie producers Frank King (John Goodman) and his brother Herman (Stephen Root)), it is for the better. In most cases, however, performances are spot-on. 

The Trumbo biopic is definitely a movie you wouldn’t want to miss if you are interested in American history. It is a well-deserved tribute to one of Hollywood's greatest directors.