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Truth can be complicated, and especially so in "Truth," a smartly crafted, hard-charging drama of journalism and politics that is more than meets the eye.
"Truth" is adapted from former TV journalist Mary Mapes' book about the 2004 story that derailed her career. The story, which was anchored by Dan Rather on CBS' "60 Minutes II," looked into President George W. Bush's National Guard record and relied on documents whose authenticity fell under heavy scrutiny.
How one looks at that incident is usually predetermined by one's politics. Conservatives believe Mapes and Rather were following a liberal agenda to attack Bush, and their biases were exposed by crusading right-wing bloggers. Liberals look at it as hard-working journalists felled by a right-wing attack machine, abetted by CBS corporate brass who threw Rather & Co. under the bus.
The reality, as carefully depicted here by writer and first-time director James Vanderbilt, is more complex. It begins with Mapes (Cate Blanchett), fresh off a hard-hitting exposé she and Rather (Robert Redford) report about American atrocities at the Abu Ghraib prison, looking for another story to pitch. She and her team — played by Dennis Quaid, Elisabeth Moss and Topher Grace — start looking into Bush's murky military career and whether strings were pulled to keep him out of the Vietnam War.
Mapes eventually finds a retired military man, Bill Burkett (Stacy Keach), who shows her documents that refute the narrative that Bush served his time in the Alabama National Guard. Some of CBS' experts say the documents look authentic, while others are noncommittal. After the story airs, criticism begins that the documents look phony, as Mapes' other sources backtrack and recant their stories.
Vanderbilt spends roughly half the movie following Mapes and her team pursuing the story, and the other half detailing the circus that followed the broadcast. He doesn't dismiss Mapes' errors in judgment, of rushing to air without nailing down the details of the story, but aims to put them in some context — political, journalistic and corporate — that was missing in the heat of the 2004 campaign.
The movie boasts a strong cast, led by two powerful performances. Blanchett encapsulates Mapes' relentless drive to get the story, but also the doubt and frustration when her talent and motives are challenged and her corporate support is kicked out from under her. Redford doesn't don prosthetics to look like Rather or try to approximate the anchorman's down-home mannerisms, but the actor nails down something more elusive and essential: Rather's sense of authority, his inherent trustworthiness and that old-school belief in speaking truth to power.
"Truth" won't settle the debate over what happened in 2004 or what Bush was doing when he was supposed to be flying jets. ("Doonesbury" creator Garry Trudeau offered a $10,000 donation to the USO if anyone could prove Bush served his Guard time. No one ever took him up on it.) What it does, with lucid storytelling and vibrant performances, is ask us to look at the bigger picture of what journalists try to tell us and what others don't want us to hear.
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'Truth'
A drama about "Rathergate" — the journalistic errors that brought down an anchorman — dramatically reveals a bigger story about politics and the news business.
Where • Area theaters.
When • Opens Friday, Oct. 30.
Rating • R for language and a brief nude photo.
Running time • 121 minutes.