Dalton Trumbo is part of the group of Hollywood Writers who believe the ideal of communism having flashed their love towards it during their time at Hollywood. However, the cold war changes the temperament of the Americans with influential entertainment-industry figures such as columnist Hedda Hopper and actor John Wayne (David James Elliott) critical of the Soviet Union & its communist principles. An inevitable clash ensues between Trumbo’s & Hedda’s groups leading to the blacklisting of pro-communist Hollywood workers.
Language:
English
Running Time:
124 min
Rating:
R
Release date:
06 November 2015
Directed by:
Jay Roach
Produced by:
Michael London
Janice Williams
Shivani Rawat
Monica Levinson
Nimitt Mankad
John McNamara
Kevin Kelly Brown
Written by:
John McNamara
Based on:
Dalton Trumbo by
Bruce Cook
Starring:
Bryan Cranston
Diane Lane
Helen Mirren
Louis C.K.
Elle Fanning
John Goodman
Michael Stuhlbarg
Music by:
Theodore Shapiro
Shot by:
Jim Denault
Editing by:
Alan Baumgarten
Distributed by:
Bleecker Street

What’s Hot

  • Making a movie based on real people who have been at the pinnacle of Hollywood is really difficult primarily due to the believability factor. In that sense, the casting of actors throughout is fabulous. Particularly the casting choices to play the role of Kirk Douglas (Dean O’Gorman), John Wayne (David James Elliott) and Otto Preminger (Christian Berkel) are just perfect & they really being authenticity to proceedings.
  • The film is essentially a war of egos between the columnist, Helen Mirren & champion writer, Bryan Cranston and both of them shine. Cranston shades it due to the multiple stages/emotions he goes through over the course of the movie but Mirren‘s presence ensures the powerful adversary that every film needs.
  • The supporting cast perform ably matching up to the level set by the protagonist. Diane Lane as Trumbo’s understanding wife, Elle Fanning as his inquisitive & independent daughter and John Goodman as the maverick CEO of low-budget King Brothers Productions really catch the eye in their respective roles.
  • Biographical films are common in the Oscar season but it is quite difficult to make it as engaging as it has been done here especially with a man as popular as Academy Award Winner Dalton Trumbo. The ups & downs of his life have been adapted for the screen wonderfully by TV Writer John McNamara . The dialogues when Trumbo explains about Communism & the adult-conversations he has with his wife & daughter bring out the right emotion unfailingly.
  • Technically the film does not stand out in any department which in itself is credit to the crew. If one has to point out, then the art direction capturing the period setting & the soft yet necessary Music especially the bit during scripting, come to mind.

What’s Not

  • NA

Badges

Acting
Screenplay
Dialogues
Direction

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

‘Trumbo’ is a fascinating insight into how the cold war affected Hollywood from the perspective of celebrated writer, Dalton Trumbo. Watch it for the exemplary casting & the extraordinary performance of Bryan Cranston!