News of the World: Movie Review

 


By Michael Momper

Squandered talent is one of life's greatest tragedies. It's one thing for a bad artist to make bad art- it's to be expected. No one is surprised when Michael Bay makes a bad movie. No one is surprised when Imagine Dragons makes a bad album. No one is surprised when Clayton Kershaw chokes a playoff game. These are par for the course. No, the real tragedy is when a good artist or established talent phones it in. When you know that greatness is just around the corner, but it slips away or is left unnoticed... that is the real tragedy. All this to say that my dramatic start to this review is not a total and unequivocal indictment of Paul Greengrass' latest film News of the World, but I can't help but wince at the fact that all the pieces are here for a thought-provoking and touching movie, yet they don't fall into place in the slightest.

The premise is familiar enough- an old and soulful drifter, played by Tom Hanks, is burdened with the presence of a young girl who has no family and no caretakers. A relationship is formed that is initially full of awkwardness and hostility, but eventually leads to a sort of familial bond. Perhaps this movie's greatest sin is its predictability. This is a tale as old as time, and perhaps for some, the comfortability and well-worn path it walks are welcome. It just feels so familiar at times that it could be a daytime tv staple. This is essentially a "buddy road trip" movie, dressed up in the cozy trappings of the New Frontier and given the reassurance wrought from Tom Hanks' kind gaze.

Perhaps it is this coziness and comfort that leads to one of the film's biggest problems- low urgency and seemingly low stakes. The movie is never boring, and is beautiful to look at, but I can't help but feel throughout that I know everything is gonna be alright. From the outset, I can already see the big comfortable bow that is going to wrap this whole thing up at the end.

There is a lot to like in this film in terms of craftmenship- it is well acted, deliberately slow at points and shot in a very pleasant light. Among the rocky vistas and plains are many beautiful views. The period detail is a delight. The movie is perhaps at its best when nature itself is a character... grand sandstorms sweep in and knock the characters off their feet. The harshness of the Wild West can add great touches of urgency and really reel the viewer in. It is just a bit too infrequent in this movie to really keep me hooked.

News of the World is a movie that has a lot of good pieces, but leaves many of them stranded in what seems like a slightly unfocused effort. The title refers to an effort that Hanks' character makes to bring good news from the papers into the towns he visits, reading them to the townspeople in a grandfatherly fashion and instilling them with hope. It is an interesting concept, but one that is left to the sidelines for almost the whole movie while the familiar road trip stereotypes become the main focus. Watching this movie is not an experience that will leave you bored or feeling like you wasted a couple hours, but the disappointment is brought about from knowing that this could have been so much more.

Rating: 55/100

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