By Renee’ Collins
Rating: 4.5 (Out of 5 Reels)
In 1947, Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) was Hollywood’s top screenwriter until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs (IMDB).
There are few actors who can convincingly transform into whatever character they choose to portray because they are just that good. Fortunately, we encounter two of those great actors here in Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren. Cranston expertly portrays Trumbo a man who was singled out by the House Un-American Committee for supposedly being a communist. What is disconcerting is that technically he broke no laws but was thrown in jail for not answering questions under oath and therefore deemed to be in contempt of Congress. Consequently, he was blacklisted by Hollywood which made it extremely difficult if near impossible to find work.
It is hard to believe how some Americans cannot learn from the past fear mongering because the same kind of non-sense is starting to happen again in light of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. Despite that this film is wonderfully acted and written with a stellar cast of actors that bring this story to life in a fantastic way.