--- title: "Trumbo" year: 2015 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/trumbo" fi1m_id: "trumbo" imdb_id: "tt3203606" tmdb_id: 294016 wikidata_id: "Q18692630" fi1m_score: 58 critics_score: 59 critics_reviews: 21 published: "2026-10-02T23:16:40.334928+00:00" updated: "2026-10-02T23:16:59.789640+00:00" region: "PA" 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." --- # Trumbo (2015) Directed by Jay Roach · 2h 04m · Drama ## Identity Trumbo - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/trumbo - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** trumbo - **IMDb ID:** tt3203606 - **TMDB ID:** 294016 - **Wikidata ID:** Q18692630 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203606/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/294016, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18692630 **Fi1m score: 58** · Critics 59 from 21 reviews *In a sentence:* The blacklist retold as a caper, where the loot is a screen credit and the villain wears a hat > Jay Roach turns the Hollywood blacklist into a brisk, amiable comedy of survival, and Bryan Cranston has a fine time in the bathtub. It is lively and handsomely dressed, and it treats the worst thing Hollywood ever did to its own as a problem of paperwork. ## Synopsis Hollywood, 1947. Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston), one of the best-paid screenwriters in town and a member of the Communist Party, lives on a ranch with his wife Cleo (Diane Lane) and daughter Niki (Elle Fanning), and writes his scripts in the bath. The House Un-American Activities Committee has begun summoning Hollywood names to Washington, with gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Helen Mirren) and John Wayne (David James Elliott) cheering it on and Edward G. Robinson (Michael Stuhlbarg) among the friends taking Trumbo’s side. Trumbo and fellow writer Arlen Hird (Louis C.K.) decide to refuse the committee’s questions, which makes them unemployable the moment they stand up to do it, and leaves Trumbo a wife, a ranch and a mortgage to keep going with no studio willing to put his name on a cheque. ## Review Dalton Trumbo was one of the best-paid screenwriters in Hollywood in 1947, a member of the Communist Party, and one of the ten who went to prison rather than tell Congress about it. Jay Roach’s film takes him from the first subpoena through the years of writing under other men’s names, and it does so briskly, warmly and with a great many hats. It is never dull. It is also never difficult, and for a film about the blacklist that is a strange thing to be able to say. We enjoyed most of its 124 minutes and believed about half of them. Bryan Cranston plays Trumbo as a man already giving a performance: speeches in full paragraphs, a cigarette holder waved like a conductor’s baton, a typewriter balanced on a plank across the bath. It is a large turn and it knows it, and since Trumbo by every account was a large man, Cranston gets away with it. What John McNamara’s script does not give him is anything underneath. We hear that he is a genius and we see him type; we never see him think. His politics are a few lines about fairness delivered to his daughter, and his compromises, a radical with a ranch and a studio salary, are raised once by a friend and then dropped. The friend is Arlen Hird, played by Louis C.K. as a tired, coughing man who believes the things Trumbo only says, and his scenes are the closest the film comes to an argument. Helen Mirren’s Hedda Hopper is the other reason to stay. Daniel Orlandi puts her in hats that get larger as her power does, and she plays the columnist not as a cartoon but as a professional who has found something that sells better than gossip. David James Elliott’s John Wayne is a sketch with good shoulders. Michael Stuhlbarg plays Edward G. Robinson as a decent, frightened man, and his one long scene with Cranston is the only time the film puts the cost of the blacklist on a face rather than into a speech. Diane Lane is given almost nothing to do as Cleo and does it with grace. The best stretch is the middle, when Trumbo turns out scripts under false names for Frank King (John Goodman), a producer of monster pictures who does not care who wrote a thing as long as it is on his desk by Thursday. Goodman shouts, bargains and at one point picks up a baseball bat, and we laughed out loud, twice, both times at him. Alan Baumgarten cuts these years as montage, pills and envelopes and a telephone that never stops, and Theodore Shapiro’s score turns brassy and jaunty beneath it, so that the whole business plays as a caper. It is enjoyable. It is also the moment the film decides what the blacklist was: a nuisance that a clever man could work around. That is the trouble, and it runs through everything. Jim Denault lights the ranch, the hearing room and the prison yard in the same warm amber, and Mark Ricker’s sets, the ranch house, Frank King’s office with its lurid posters, are handsome and safe. Nothing in the frame looks dangerous. The people who lost careers and did not get them back are referred to; the camera stays with the one who ended up fine. The committee men are bullies and the communists are kind people who like unions, and the film never wonders whether any of them believed anything harder than that. We came out entertained and faintly cross, because a subject this serious had been made this comfortable, and because the film seemed to think the comfort was the point. Roach directs it as a comedy of manners, which is why it moves and why it never bites. *Good Night, and Good Luck* (2005) covered the same fear in the same years and let the silence do the work; here nobody is quiet for long enough. Watch it as a Sunday afternoon film, for Cranston, Mirren and Goodman, and for the bathtub. Then look up what happened to the people in this story who were not Dalton Trumbo. The film will not tell you. *Fi1m score 58, published 2 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are divided almost down the middle, with a slight lean towards approval. Most critics agree the film is lively and easy to sit through, and the praise gathers around Bryan Cranston, whose performance is repeatedly called commanding and is often the reason a lukewarm review tips into a positive one. The supporting cast draws warm notices too, especially Helen Mirren’s Hedda Hopper, John Goodman’s scene of comic force and Michael Stuhlbarg’s Edward G. Robinson. Several critics single out the black-market screenwriting episodes as the film’s most entertaining stretch. The reservations are consistent. The film is called conventional, cautious and morally simplistic, with the blacklist and Trumbo’s politics flattened into clichés, and a few find the story played too much for laughs. The spread is wide: Deadline calls it hugely entertaining and absorbing, while Collider finds it flat and dramatically unconvincing. The Evening Standard dissents on Cranston too, finding the performance overworked. ## Straight answers **Is Trumbo worth watching?** *Trumbo* is worth watching as a brisk Sunday afternoon film about the Hollywood blacklist, and we scored it 58. Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren and John Goodman are good company for 124 minutes, but Jay Roach plays the blacklist as a caper and never shows what it cost the people who did not end up fine. Entertaining, and faintly cross-making. **How long is Trumbo, and what is it rated?** *Trumbo* runs 2h 04m. It is a drama film. **Where can I watch Trumbo in Panama?** *Trumbo* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Panama, and it is also available to rent from Apple TV from PAB 0.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Trumbo, and is it suitable for children?** *Trumbo* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, but it is a talky period drama rather than a violent or frightening one. The certificate reflects adult language and the subject of political persecution, not anything on screen that would alarm a teenager. It is too slow and speech-heavy for younger children. **How does Trumbo compare to Good Night, and Good Luck.?** *Trumbo* and [*Good Night, and Good Luck.*](https://film.one/film/good-night-and-good-luck) cover the same fear in the same years, and the earlier film is the better of the two. George Clooney lets silence and precise storytelling do the work, while Jay Roach reaches for speeches, hats and a jaunty score. *Trumbo* is the warmer and easier evening; *Good Night, and Good Luck.* is the one that bites. **What should I watch after Trumbo?** After *Trumbo*, try [*Good Night, and Good Luck*](https://film.one/film/good-night-and-good-luck) (2005, Fi1m 83): The same fear, same years, black and white, and nobody makes a speech in a bathtub. Then [*Hail, Caesar!*](https://film.one/film/hail-caesar) (2016, Fi1m 72): The Coens’ Hollywood communists hold study groups; funnier and, oddly, more honest. ### Reviews we read (21) - **Los Angeles Times**, Rebecca Keegan (75/100, inferred): Keegan finds the film engaging and timely, though occasionally too conventional and morally simplistic. She especially praises Bryan Cranston’s confident performance and the vivid period details, including the costumes. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-trumbo-review-20151106-story.html) - **Empire**, Dan Jolin (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film visually and structurally plain but ultimately positive, thanks to the heroism of its subject. It singles out Bryan Cranston’s commanding performance as the film’s chief strength. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/trumbo-review/) - **Evening Standard** (70/100, inferred): The review finds the film rewarding despite a slow start and an overworked performance from Bryan Cranston. It praises Helen Mirren’s portrayal of Hedda Hopper and John Goodman’s comic force. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/toronto-film-festival-trumbo-film-review-a2951051.html) - **The AV Club**, Tasha Robinson (B-): Robinson finds the film an engaging but unfocused history lesson that never makes its central figure’s genius convincing. She praises the vivid supporting performances, while criticizing the film for failing to show what made Trumbo’s writing effective. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/trumbo-is-a-hollywood-history-lesson-with-a-slippery-gr-1798188427) - **The Guardian**, Henry Barnes (70/100, inferred): Barnes finds the film lively and ultimately a fitting tribute, though its Hollywood self-regard and tonal wobbles invite skepticism. He praises Helen Mirren’s sharply balanced portrayal of Hedda Hopper. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/sep/13/trumbo-review-bryan-cranston-toronto-tiff) - **Screen Daily**, Allan Hunter (64/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. It also provides no specific praise or complaint to report. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/trumbo-review/5093031.article) - **The New York Times** (64/100, inferred): The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be verified from the material provided. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/06/movies/review-bryan-cranston-in-trumbo-as-a-screenwriter-in-a-hollywood-under-siege.html) - **IndieWire**, Kate Erbland (C+): Erbland finds the film a serviceable but shallow biopic, weakened by uneven direction and a script that never digs deeply into its subject. She praises Michael Stuhlbarg’s Edward G. Robinson as nearly transcendent and singles out John Goodman’s scene as the film’s best. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/culture/toronto-review-bryan-cranston-enters-the-biopic-game-with-uneven-trumbo-58248/) - **Little White Lies**, Emma Simmonds (4/3/3): Simmonds finds the biopic fast and funny but somewhat flimsy, and says it fails to convey the full injustice of the blacklist. She praises Bryan Cranston’s commanding, multifaceted performance as the film’s heart and soul. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/trumbo) - **The New Yorker**, Anthony Lane (55/100, inferred): Lane finds the film entertaining but hampered by a story whose ethical steadfastness leaves little dramatic development. He praises Bryan Cranston’s stylish portrayal and the lively supporting performances, while questioning whether Trumbo is more compelling as a figure in the shadows. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/09/doing-the-right-thing) - **Slant Magazine**, Steve Macfarlane (2/4): The critic finds the biopic bland and overly cautious, saying it drains power from Trumbo’s story. He faults its simplistic screenplay and shallow treatment of Trumbo’s political ideals and compromises. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/trumbo-2015/) - **Radio Times**, Andrew Collins (40/100, inferred): The review presents Dalton Trumbo’s story as compelling but says it suffers from being played for laughs. It singles out Bryan Cranston’s stature and eccentricity in the role as a strength. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/trumbo-review-bryan-cranston-brings-stature-and-eccentricity-to-the-role/) - **Variety**, Peter Debruge (40/100, inferred): Debruge finds the biopic clumsy, stodgy, and overly simplistic, though ultimately an important reminder of how democracy can fail. He praises the King Brothers scenes as the film’s most entertaining stretch, while noting that Helen Mirren’s Hedda Hopper also livens up the movie. [Read](https://variety.com/2015/film/reviews/trumbo-film-review-1201592118/) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (35/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film uneven, with its historical and political treatment reduced to shallow clichés. He praises Bryan Cranston’s performance and the lively, funny scenes involving Trumbo’s work for low-budget filmmakers. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2015/11/review-trumbo-doesnt-know-what-it-wants-to-be.html) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (90/100, inferred): Hammond finds the film hugely entertaining, absorbing, and worthwhile, and calls it one of the year's must-see pictures. He especially praises Bryan Cranston's commanding performance as Dalton Trumbo. [Read](https://deadline.com/2015/10/trumbo-review-bryan-cranston-dalton-trumbo-hollywood-blacklist-1201592441/) - **HeyUGuys**, Ian Gilchrist (85/100, inferred): The critic gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling Cranston’s portrayal of Dalton Trumbo his finest feature performance to date. They also praise the film’s depiction of the blacklist and Trumbo’s fight for free expression. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/trumbo-review/) - **The Wrap** (78/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a lively and engaging account of survival during an oppressive era, despite occasional didactic moments. They praise its focus on the screenwriters’ day-to-day struggles and the strong performances, especially Louis C.K., Helen Mirren, and Diane Lane. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/trumbo-review-bryan-cranston-helen-mirren-louis-ck-dalton-trumbo/) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (2.5/5): Crow finds the film a respectable but overly simplistic drama, elevated by Bryan Cranston’s playful, compelling performance. He praises Cranston’s portrayal while criticizing the film’s black-and-white treatment of its history and characters. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/trumbo-review/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (D+): Goldberg finds the biopic safe, flat, and dramatically unconvincing. He praises the cast, especially Michael Stuhlbarg and John Goodman with Stephen Root, while wishing Bryan Cranston had a more fully developed character. [Read](https://collider.com/trumbo-movie-review-bryan-cranston-tiff-2015/) - **Consequence**, Sarah Kurchak (35/100, inferred): Kurchak finds the biopic uneven and overly heavy-handed, though its middle section is more engaging. She praises the lively dialogue, comic timing, and mix of drama and humor in Trumbo’s black-market screenwriting episodes. [Read](https://consequence.net/2015/11/tiff-film-review-trumbo/) - **Eye for Film**, Owen Van Spall (35/100, inferred): The critic finds the film enjoyable but conventional, ultimately a missed opportunity to explore its rich subject matter. They praise its nimble pacing and sly, entertaining depiction of blacklisted writers finding work, while faulting its lack of depth and dramatic surprise. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/trumbo-2015-film-review-by-owen-van-spall) ## Details - **Director:** Jay Roach - **Director:** Jay Roach - **Writer:** John McNamara - **Cinematography:** Jim Denault - **Editor:** Alan Baumgarten - **Music:** Theodore Shapiro - **Production design:** Mark Ricker - **Costume design:** Daniel Orlandi - **Producer:** Jay Roach, Kevin Kelly Brown, Janice Williams - **Cast:** Bryan Cranston as Dalton Trumbo; Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Virgil Brooks; Louis C.K. as Arlen Hird; David James Elliott as John Wayne; Elle Fanning as Niki Trumbo; John Goodman as Frank King; Diane Lane as Cleo Trumbo; Michael Stuhlbarg as Edward G. Robinson - **Runtime:** 2h 04m - **First release (Canada):** 12 September 2015 - **Genres:** Drama - **Budget:** $15 million - **Box office:** $8 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af4Ua6DUpzg ## Where to watch in Panama - Amazon Prime Video: streaming - Apple TV: rent PAB 0.99, hd - Apple TV: buy PAB 2.99, hd *Checked 2026-10-02.* Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, GB, GR, IE, IT, JP, KR, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PA, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## Awards - Academy Awards 2016: Best Actor (nominated) - Paul Selvin Award 2015: Paul Selvin Award (won) ## If you liked this - *The Front* (1976): Written by a blacklisted writer, so the jokes about fronts have teeth this one lacks - *Good Night, and Good Luck* (2005), Fi1m 83: The same fear, same years, black and white, and nobody makes a speech in a bathtub — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/good-night-and-good-luck.md) - *Guilty by Suspicion* (1991): Robert De Niro as a director on the list; sober where this is sunny - *Hail, Caesar!* (2016), Fi1m 72: The Coens’ Hollywood communists hold study groups; funnier and, oddly, more honest — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/hail-caesar.md) - *Spartacus* (1960): What Trumbo wrote once his name was his own again; see the work, not the story about it --- © 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/trumbo