While this movie simplifies what was a difficult time in the movie industry it’s done through a medium of some good acting, writing and photography which gives this movie a realistic feeling of being a throwback to the era. Bryan Cranston in particular is superb as Dalton Trumbo but is ably assisted by Diane Lane as his wife who is the real rock of the family and must try to keep the house together through Trumbo’s periods of isolation while immersing himself in his writing and also through the turbulent times when he was blacklisted and the money was drying up.

Where the real issue with the movie starts is that it seems to try and introduce comedy moments for levity, which turns characters such as Hedda Hopper, played by Helen Mirren and The King Brother producing team, into comic relief. While this does work in briefly lifting the movie out of its gloomy depiction it also detracts from the seriousness of the situation which I thought the movie should have stuck with, as it was the core of the story.

While I appreciate that the movie is about Trumbo’s life in general it would have been nice to see a bit more of the broader picture of the situation with the HUAC, as it was an integral part of his career. I felt that there wasn’t a lot of time given to how the Hollywood 10 ended up in their position, or why the persecution they felt that they were facing, even outside the blacklisting, required them to make the stand in the fashion that they did through their open support for Communism during the great depression as an alternative, and in their opinion, better form of government than Capitalism at that time.

Overall the movie is an interesting and entertaining watch but, in essence, it feels a bit like a modern period piece and may be a bit heavy duty for some.

DJ Speaks Rating: 6.5 out of 10