Exiled for their political views, communist Dalton Trumbo and his leftist comrades must write in secret, producing some of Hollywood’s finest screenplays.
Those of us who grew up watching Malcolm in the Middle continue to be amazed at how Hal, the hapless father, has become the household name and acting powerhouse that he is today. Bryan Cranston’s performance in Godzilla didn’t endear many to him following Breaking Bad. But in Trumbo, he inhabits the character – he is Dalton Trumbo.
It’s 1940s America and ‘communist’ means what ‘terrorist’ means today. Dalton Trumbo is a communist. But whatever you may think of his politics, he is the hero of this story.
He’s also one of the best screenwriters Hollywood has ever called a hack. His far-left thinking lands him in a lot of hot water with the upper echelons of the movie business, including John Wayne. Not someone with the same name as John Wayne, John Wayne (David James Elliott). This culminates in one of the countless scenes where the titular character goes mano a mano with a bigger opponent and comes out on top thanks to his wit, intelligence and headstrong personality.
For fear of being prosecuted for his political beliefs during the red scare, Trumbo writes under a number of pseudonyms, sometimes simply giving scripts to real-life friends and co-workers, passing it off as their own and splitting the fee with the author. He ends up winning a number of Oscars under these alternative names. This puts a lot of pressure on his young family and it is this dynamic that produces the most touching scenes of the film.
It’s heavy material from the man who brought us Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged me and Meet the Parents. Director Jay Roach’s touches of humour are easily identifiable throughout. He has picked up a strong screenplay and created a believable world. But for all his directorial prowess, this film would be lost without Cranston at the helm.
His facial features bend like someone trying not to laugh and his body is hunched, as though from the many hours spent with his typewriter in the bathtub, his workplace of choice, quellazaire-bearing with a lit cigarette eternally at the ready. This leaves us to wonder, will the film about this great man take the Oscar for Best Actor? We Leonar-don’t think so. Ahem. But it’s always nice to be asked.
Trumbo will turn you on your head in many ways. Those who grew to fear and loath Walter White won’t understand their fondness for Trumbo – the Malcolm in the Middle generation will struggle less. Meanwhile, fans of The Queen may experience an internal conflict with their sudden onset hatred of Helen Mirren for her character, Hedda Hopper. This Los Angeles Times columnist will fill you with rage - if there is an ounce of humanity in you, you’ll wish ill upon her as she acts out of sheer spite to make Trumbo and his family’s life as difficult as possible.
So bad things happen. But when bad things happened to Walter White, did he give up? No, he did not – he came up with a plan and he followed through. Trumbo does very much the same thing. There does seem to be a trend in the kind of characters Bryan Cranston goes for. Makes you wonder if his Kung Fu Panda 3 character will be the same scheming-his-way-out-of-problems type.
Trumbo’s cunning and quick thinking notwithstanding, the film sags somewhat in the third act, but is saved by John Goodman’s bombastic performance as Frank King, the B-movie producer who adds a less satirical, more in-your-face brand of humour which is a refreshing foil to the lead character’s over-bearing one. Taking full advantage of Trumbo’s desperation for work and money, he pays a pittance to the author, who gives him gold in return, resulting in films like Roman Holiday and The Brave One. Both of which won writing Oscars for Best Screenplay in 1949 and ‘56 respectively.
The subject matter is at the heart of this film. There is a great story to tell here. This, along with Cranston’s outstanding performance, is what saves Trumbo from becoming a self-indulgent Hollywood bio-pic.
