--- title: "The Post" year: 2017 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-post" fi1m_score: 74 critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 23 published: "2026-09-20T07:53:28.991307+00:00" updated: "2026-09-20T07:53:29.447277+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Post (2017) Directed by Steven Spielberg · 1h 56m · MPA PG-13 · Drama, History **Fi1m score: 74** · Critics 78 from 23 reviews *In a sentence:* Meryl Streep spends two hours being talked over by men in suits and then picks up the telephone > Spielberg’s account of the Washington Post and the Pentagon Papers is brisk, handsome and acted by people who know exactly what they are doing. It is also so sure of its own virtue that it never once lets us doubt how things will turn out. ## Synopsis Washington, 1971. Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) has run the Washington Post since her husband died, and she is about to take the company public, which means a week of bankers, board meetings and being talked over. Her editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), wants a paper that can beat the New York Times, and then the Times prints extracts from a secret Pentagon history of the Vietnam War, leaked by Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys), and the Nixon administration gets a court order to stop them. Bradlee sends Ben Bagdikian (Bob Odenkirk) out with a pocketful of change to find the source. Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts) and Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford) warn Kay what publishing would do to the share offer. Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood), who commissioned the study, is her friend. ## Review In 1971 the New York Times began printing a secret Pentagon history of the Vietnam War, and the Nixon administration went to court to stop it. Steven Spielberg’s film is about the paper that picked up the story, and the woman who owned it. Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) has run the Washington Post since her husband died and is taking the company public, which means bankers, which means caution. Her editor, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks), wants the papers before anyone else. The film runs 116 minutes and is in a hurry for all of them. It is a good film, made by people who know where the pieces go, and we enjoyed most of it. What it is not is suspenseful, and we think it wants to be. Liz Hannah and Josh Singer’s script has the shape of a thriller, with a source to be found and lawyers on the telephone at midnight, but everyone who matters announces which side they are on within a minute of arriving, and the film never lets us think the right side might lose. Most critics have found that rousing. We found it comfortable. The craft is the reason to go. Janusz Kamiński lights the newsroom with white daylight hard enough to bleach the desks. Rick Carter has built a Post with low ceilings and too many typewriters, and, underneath it, a composing room of lead type. The sequence in which the story is set, plated and run, the presses starting and the editors upstairs feeling the building shake through their shoes, moved us more than anything anybody says in the film. Nobody speaks during it. Michael Kahn and Sarah Broshar cut it to the rhythm of the machines, and John Williams, who elsewhere pushes harder than the scenes need, lets the presses be the score. Streep is doing something careful. Ann Roth dresses her in caftans and gold, and for the first hour she apologises with her shoulders: at the board meeting where Arthur Parsons (Bradley Whitford) explains her own company to her, at a dinner where the women get up and leave the men to talk. The scene in which she decides, on a telephone with Fritz Beebe (Tracy Letts) and a lawyer arguing at either elbow, is played small, one word said several times until she believes it. It is the best acting in the film. Hanks plays Bradlee as a growl in a striped shirt. Bob Odenkirk is the surprise. Ben Bagdikian goes looking for the leak from pay phones, and Odenkirk plays him as a rumpled, worried man who is the only person in the film doing any reporting. His scenes with Matthew Rhys’s Daniel Ellsberg, a motel room and a great many boxes, are the closest the film gets to the grubbiness of the job. Bruce Greenwood gets one strong scene as Robert McNamara, telling Kay on a lawn what Nixon will do to her. Carrie Coon, David Cross and Jesse Plemons fill the newsroom. Spielberg cannot resist saying it twice. Sarah Paulson, as Tony Bradlee, is handed a speech explaining to Ben why what Kay is doing is brave, minutes after we have watched Kay do it. Nixon appears only as a back seen through a White House window with his own tapes on the soundtrack, and each time the film gets cheaper. There is a final scene that exists to point at another, better-known film about the same newspaper. We were nodding along, and then we were irritated with ourselves for nodding. Against Spielberg’s [*Lincoln*](https://film.one/film/lincoln) (2012) and [*Bridge of Spies*](https://film.one/film/bridge-of-spies) (2015), this one is thinner, because those had arguments in them and people we liked disagreed. Here everyone we like agrees, and the people who do not are bankers. Against Alan J. Pakula’s *All the President’s Men* (1976), which it keeps glancing at, it is brighter, faster and much less frightened. It is a 12A, the sort of film you can put on with a teenager and have a decent conversation afterwards. Watch it for Streep on the telephone and Odenkirk in the phone box. The Post was in real doubt about how this would end; the film never is. *Fi1m score 74, published 20 September 2026.* ### Reviews we read (23) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it propulsive major studio cinema made with real-world purpose that succeeds across the board, showcasing the value of newspapers holding government accountable. He singles out Streep's performance as the professional coming of age of Katharine Graham for particular praise. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-the-post-review-20171221-story.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (90/100, inferred): The critic calls it a vigorous, stirring true-life thriller that dramatizes the Washington Post's role in publishing the Pentagon Papers. Spielberg's brisk direction and the lead performances by Streep and Hanks are singled out for praise. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/post-review-1062153/) - **Vulture** (90/100, inferred): The review describes the film as a perfectly timed, crackling newspaper movie that serves as a Meryl Streep showcase. It praises Streep's understated performance as Katharine Graham and Spielberg's focus on the procedural elements of journalism. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2017/12/the-post-is-a-perfectly-timed-crackling-newspaper-movie.html) - **Screen Daily** (85/100, inferred): The film is a crackling entertainment made with precision and political purpose that brings intelligence and electricity to its study of journalism, guided by urgent performances from Streep and Hanks. It singles out the contemporary relevance and Streep's least-fussy performance charting Graham's journey for praise. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-post-review/5124335.article) - **The Independent** (85/100, inferred): The critic praises Spielberg's ability to make a newspaper drama thrilling despite its office-bound setting and compares it favorably to Spotlight as an equal in recent newspaper movies. They single out the cinematic treatment of the printing process and the strong performances by Streep and Hanks. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-post-review-tickets-watch-steven-spielberg-trailer-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-a8163456.html) - **Empire**, Jonathan Pile (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film first-class on its own merits thanks to compelling leads and masterful direction, though it lacks the thrill of All the President's Men or the emotional heft of Spotlight. They highlight the prescient themes and strong acting by Streep and Hanks. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/post-review/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (80/100, inferred): Spielberg's handsome, rousingly watchable drama celebrates liberal decency through the Washington Post's fight to publish the Pentagon Papers. The critic singles out the excellent, relatable performances from Streep and Hanks along with the film's evocative 1970s period detail. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/dec/06/the-post-review-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-meryl-streep-washington-post) - **Evening Standard**, Matthew Norman (75/100, inferred): The critic views the film as an engaging superhero-style tale of media heroism against a bullying president, with Streep's performance as the standout element showing Graham's growth. They note some limitations in its contemporary resonance but call it highly watchable overall. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-post-review-it-echoes-present-day-tension-between-the-media-and-the-white-house-a3744211.html) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (70/100, inferred): The critic describes it as a solidly rousing act of historical re-creation focused on the Pentagon Papers and the Post's decision to publish. He notes the film is a little too confident of its righteous stand but praises how Streep beautifully manages the battle between hesitation and decisiveness. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/movies/the-post) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (70/100, inferred): The critic finds it a bustlingly entertaining and timely docudrama about how the Pentagon Papers shifted journalism's relationship to power, with galvanizing relevance. He praises its confidence and filmmaking verve but notes it is high-carb docudrama prose rather than poetry and not quite a work of art. [Read](https://variety.com/2017/film/reviews/the-post-review-tom-hanks-meryl-streep-1202631640/) - **Little White Lies**, Charles Bramesco (4/3/2): The critic finds the film strangely unsatisfying as a rushed political drama that forces a hopeful worldview onto the material, resulting in disingenuous cop-outs and sentimentality. It singles out the inauthenticity and attachment to an outdated idea of America for complaint. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-post) - **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (★★★): The film offers a brisk, decent account of the Pentagon Papers story that succeeds in its retro-fitted arena and champions print journalism with contemporary resonance. It singles out the soft ending and coda referencing All the President's Men for complaint, noting it preaches to the choir. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/the-post-review-distinctly-trumpian-in-its-themes/) - **Time Out**, Joshua Rothkopf (3/5): Streep's layered, insecure portrayal of Katharine Graham stands out as the most exciting element, but the film otherwise lacks bite and feels clichéd and rote under Spielberg's direction. It singles out the timely theme undercut by a dinosaur-like approach and false happily-ever-after ending for complaint. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-post) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (95/100, inferred): Spielberg has crafted another masterpiece with The Post, an urgent and timely newspaper drama about the Pentagon Papers that plays like a suspense thriller while emphasizing the importance of the free press. The critic singles out the extraordinary performances of Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, and the film's relevance to contemporary issues. [Read](https://deadline.com/2017/12/the-post-review-meryl-streep-tom-hanks-steven-spielberg-pentagon-papers-1202221619/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4.5/5): The film is a celebration of the press checking a criminal presidency and one of the year's best, with gripping storytelling of truth versus power. Spielberg's deft touches and the performances of Streep and Hanks stand out in this timely history lesson. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-post-review/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (9/10): The critic hails the film as the most important of 2017, a rousing and well-timed defense of the First Amendment and free press that holds a mirror to contemporary events. They single out Meryl Streep's nuanced performance as Katharine Graham and the film's feminist perspective as Spielberg shifts focus to a female protagonist. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/554890/the-post-review/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (B+): Spielberg and his collaborators deliver a strong film through sheer talent about the importance of journalism and women's struggles in the workplace. It is a timely story set in 1971 that speaks to 2017, with outstanding performances from the stacked cast. [Read](https://collider.com/the-post-review-steven-spielberg-meryl-streep/) - **HeyUGuys**, Stefan Pape (80/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as an intelligent, entertaining drama that is gloriously cinematic and fast-paced, likening it to Spotlight played on fast forward. They highlight the strong performances by Streep and Hanks along with a subtle feminist undercurrent, while noting it can feel convoluted at times but remains important amid debates over fake news. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-post-review/) - **NME**, Olly Richards (4/5): Spielberg's brisk, thrilling film tells the story of journalistic heroism and a woman claiming her power through the Pentagon Papers. Streep gives one of her finest performances in years as Graham in this quiet, riveting first-class storytelling. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/the-post-review-streep-hanks-spielberg-2219620) - **The Ringer**, K. Austin Collins (80/100, inferred): The film is a nerdy, civil, heartening pro-journalism civics lesson and Spielberg master class with a stacked cast and political prescience. It stages arguments effectively and stands in awe of principled power in the right hands. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2017/12/24/movies/the-post-film-review-steven-spielberg-tom-hanks-meryl-streep) - **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): Spielberg spins a lean and mean fourth estate yarn that examines the importance of a free press and speaking truth to power, with rich characterizations and suspense. The critic praises the performances, especially Streep's portrayal of Kay Graham's feminist awakening, while noting some clunky exposition. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/the-post-movie-review-steven-spielberg-meryl-streep-tom-hanks/) - **Consequence** (B-): Spielberg turns the story of the free press into a fast-paced, wiry thriller and likable potboiler that feels timely and urgent. The film prioritizes pacing over rich characterization and deeper ideas, though Streep gives a tip-top nuanced performance. [Read](https://consequence.net/2017/12/film-review-the-post/) - **The Skinny**, Patrick Gamble (★★★): Spielberg delivers a sumptuously stylised 70s docudrama about journalism's relationship to power that draws timely parallels to current events. The controlled, workmanlike account of the newsroom process creates some detachment but ultimately issues a rousing call for principled journalism. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-post) ## Details - **Director:** Steven Spielberg - **Director:** Steven Spielberg - **Writer:** Liz Hannah, Josh Singer - **Cinematography:** Janusz Kamiński - **Editor:** Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn - **Music:** John Williams - **Production design:** Rick Carter - **Costume design:** Ann Roth - **Producer:** Steven Spielberg, Kristie Macosko Krieger, Amy Pascal - **Cast:** Meryl Streep as Kay Graham; Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee; Sarah Paulson as Tony Bradlee; Bob Odenkirk as Ben Bagdikian; Tracy Letts as Fritz Beebe; Bradley Whitford as Arthur Parsons; Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara; Matthew Rhys as Daniel Ellsberg - **Runtime:** 1h 56m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13 - **Release (the US):** 12 January 2018 - **Genres:** Drama, History - **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 2017); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Nominee, 2017) - **Budget:** $50 million - **Box office:** $180 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrXlY6gzTTM ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - Hulu: add-on, hd, leaving 2026-10-01 - Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $4.99, hd - Apple TV: buy $19.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-20.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HK, IE, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, SE, SG, TH, TR, UA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2018: Best Actress (nominated); Best Picture (nominated) ## If you liked this - *All the President's Men* (1976), Fi1m 90: The same newspaper, a year later, and a film that is properly frightened of the dark — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/all-the-presidents-men.md) - *Spotlight* (2015), Fi1m 85: Reporters in bad jumpers doing the slow, dull, necessary work, and no speeches about it — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/spotlight.md) - *Ace in the Hole* (1951), Fi1m 87: Billy Wilder on what a journalist will do for a story; the acid to Spielberg’s tonic — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ace-in-the-hole.md) - *The Insider* (1999), Fi1m 89: Michael Mann’s television-news drama, where the fight over what to broadcast has real teeth — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-insider.md) - *Good Night, and Good Luck.* (2005), Fi1m 83: Black and white, cigarette smoke and a newsroom taking on a powerful man, in ninety minutes — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/good-night-and-good-luck.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-post