Trumbo (2015)

*** out of ****

When “Breaking Bad” was in its third season, some friends were telling me that I should watch the show because I'd love it. I was in no hurry though, because I had a hard time believing that the Dad from “Malcolm in the Middle” could be very convincing as a ruthless drug lord. Little did I know it would soon become one of my favorite shows of all time, and that Bryan Cranston would be such a versatile talent.

Here he plays Dalton Trumbo, one of dozens (or even hundreds) of Hollywood figures that were blacklisted in the 1950s for “anti-American activities”. In Trumbo's case, he was a member of the US Communist Party. Thanks to the Senate's “House Committee on Un-American Activities”, these individuals were condemned to be deprived of their ability to work for not cooperating with the committee. In order to cooperate, they would have to admit to have been holding Anti-American views but now have changed their ways, and name the names of anyone else they knew who held similar ideals. Trumbo and nine other Hollywood writers basically told the committee to shove it, and as a result most spent time in prison for “contempt of Senate”. Trumbo himself did 11 months.

But that wasn't where it ended, because when they were freed they still found themselves blacklisted in Hollywood, unable to work. Any moviemaker who employed them would be attacked by the committee and risk blacklisting themselves. As a result, Trumbo, who had previously been one of Hollywood's most respected and successful writers, now had no way to work. Highly secret ghost writing became his only source of income, and the high volume and stress threatened to tear his family apart.

Cranston is forced to walk a fine line in this role, affecting a regional accent and a physicality clearly lesser than his actual one, but he carries the role well without excessive overacting. Diane Lane is also excellent as his long-suffering wife, and a surprising Louis CK as a fellow blacklisted writer does much better than anyone could have expected. But it is the story that is the star here, as we see the travails Trumbo and his fellows were forced to endure for more than a decade. Like many true stories where injustices occur, it's hard to watch without becoming highly annoyed that such things were allowed to happen. But thanks to modern day travesties like the Patriot Act, the same thing goes on today, only with much less fanfare.

Cranston received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Trumbo, and I feel it was well deserved. Sad that such a story exists to be told, but it's a well crafted film meant to make a point. And since you surely can't miss that point, it can't be considered anything but a success.