(MAJOR SPOILER BELOW)
Kazan talked, this film's fictional character David Merrill does not.
Sorry to give it away, but in no way should anyone interpret this as based on the infamous whistle blower at all. Kazan could have returned to Broadway where there was no concern over a blacklist, the film's protagonist does not have that option - although he considers it and does make an attempt.
The film does mix its few historical references - making it appear that Merrill is assigned to "High Noon" (which is referred to as a "B" film), but while that film's screenwriter Carl Foreman was under suspicion, he made it to the end of the film. Also quite interesting is the importance made on constant references to Darryl F.Zanuck - this is a Warner Brothers release. Had they checked, they might have noticed that it was Jack Warner who named Kazan and Arthur Miller as Broadway subversives (with no further elaboration offered or requested in the real hearings). I guess that Warners didn't want to denigrate their own history, but did manage to thumb its nose at Zanuck who left Warners back in the early thirties in order to head up what eventually became 20th Century Fox.
De Niro gives an excellent performance, his soul searching, his pain and his final triumph (at a price) do feel real. Annette Bening is less so, but she has much less of a role. Martin Scorsese, De Niro's frequent collaborator as his director, scores as a fellow director who leaves for England - most likely he is based on Joseph Losey. Their discussion on film-making has the ring of truth to it. Shortly after this, De Niro made HIS directorial debut, so the two got to reverse roles in real life as well.
Sam Wanamaker, an actor who actually suffered under the blacklist, plays an attorney named Graff who is recommended to Merrill and most likely he's based on Martin Gang who served a similar function during the HUAC hearings. He does an admirable job in what came close to a career finish for the actor/director. Chris Cooper and Patricia Wettig also rate in smaller roles as a show biz couple whose life is torn apart by the hearings, and which serves as the catalyst for Merrill's own introspection.
The subject still warrants a better, more accurate treatment, but at least this comes closer to truth than the bits covered in "The Majestic" or in "The Way We Were." There are some anachronisms, but the period detail of the production design is still admirable. The last quarter hour of the film packs a wallop as it fairly well duplicates the footage of the real events in depicting the misapplication of justice that came as close to being un-American as the subversive activities that the Committee was supposed to be investigating.
Kazan talked, this film's fictional character David Merrill does not.
Sorry to give it away, but in no way should anyone interpret this as based on the infamous whistle blower at all. Kazan could have returned to Broadway where there was no concern over a blacklist, the film's protagonist does not have that option - although he considers it and does make an attempt.
The film does mix its few historical references - making it appear that Merrill is assigned to "High Noon" (which is referred to as a "B" film), but while that film's screenwriter Carl Foreman was under suspicion, he made it to the end of the film. Also quite interesting is the importance made on constant references to Darryl F.Zanuck - this is a Warner Brothers release. Had they checked, they might have noticed that it was Jack Warner who named Kazan and Arthur Miller as Broadway subversives (with no further elaboration offered or requested in the real hearings). I guess that Warners didn't want to denigrate their own history, but did manage to thumb its nose at Zanuck who left Warners back in the early thirties in order to head up what eventually became 20th Century Fox.
De Niro gives an excellent performance, his soul searching, his pain and his final triumph (at a price) do feel real. Annette Bening is less so, but she has much less of a role. Martin Scorsese, De Niro's frequent collaborator as his director, scores as a fellow director who leaves for England - most likely he is based on Joseph Losey. Their discussion on film-making has the ring of truth to it. Shortly after this, De Niro made HIS directorial debut, so the two got to reverse roles in real life as well.
Sam Wanamaker, an actor who actually suffered under the blacklist, plays an attorney named Graff who is recommended to Merrill and most likely he's based on Martin Gang who served a similar function during the HUAC hearings. He does an admirable job in what came close to a career finish for the actor/director. Chris Cooper and Patricia Wettig also rate in smaller roles as a show biz couple whose life is torn apart by the hearings, and which serves as the catalyst for Merrill's own introspection.
The subject still warrants a better, more accurate treatment, but at least this comes closer to truth than the bits covered in "The Majestic" or in "The Way We Were." There are some anachronisms, but the period detail of the production design is still admirable. The last quarter hour of the film packs a wallop as it fairly well duplicates the footage of the real events in depicting the misapplication of justice that came as close to being un-American as the subversive activities that the Committee was supposed to be investigating.