"All The President's Men", adapted from the book written by
Carl Bernstein and Bob Wooodward by William Goldman, is an enthralling movie.
Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman do an excellent job of involving the
audience in the tribulations that they faced as Bob Woodward and Carl
Bernstein in exposing the Watergate Scandal. The dark cinematography adds to
brilliantly crafted suspense. Overall, the directing of Alan J. Pakula was
quite good. There were some very creative scenes that had the desired effect
of inspiring the audience to bite their nails to the quick.
This movie documents the Washington Post's reporters Carl Bernstein and
Bob Woodward as they slowly break apart the Watergate Scandal during Nixon's
Reelection. The movie focuses on only the tip of the iceberg but gives the
world an insight into the risks that were taken for our country's truth
during those expositions.
A playfully competitive atmosphere of the reckless dual obsession of the
two reporters is displayed convincingly by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman.
Robert Redford's compulsive pursuit of truth and heroic respect for privacy
as Bob Woodward really gets the audience rooting for him with a little cheek
puffy thing that he does, like when he discovers the story goes all the way
up to Maurice Stans, a high-ranking official in the Committee to Reelect the
President (CREEP).
The haunting yet understated music played a large role in this film. It
informed the audience when the reporters were catching onto something that
they should be paying attention to. The costumes were classic: Robert
Redford's brown flared suite and all the secretaries in rib high white
skirts. The cinematography was very dark in the right parts, like when
Woodward meets "Deep Throat", and very light in others, like in the
chaotic newsroom with the clouds of smoke and clacking of typewriters. It was
put together very well.
Alan J. Pakula did a fantastic job with the suspense. His scenes put the
audience in each character's position. There is a scene when Bob Woodward is
speaking with "Deep Throat" and when Woodward turns around for a
second, "Deep Throat" is gone. This, along with Woodward's reaction
of running paranoidly down the street accompanied by droning music, helps
fuel the mystery surrounding The Post's secret source. These scenes make the
audience question the existence of "Deep Throat", putting them
straight in the editor's shoes, who was taking an insurmountable risk in
letting his reporters pursue such a juicy story.
"All the President's Men" is an excellently composed film. The
story of the Watergate scandal is exposed as thrilling and exciting. The
acting is convincing and fun. The cinematography and such is very well done
and the directing is superb.
|
