Truth is the controversial story of the 60 Minutes Scandal that rocked CBS back in 2004. For most, it seemed like an open-and-shut case of sloppy journalism, and a poor attempt at a hit piece on a president that was hated by the left, but if this movie is correct, and you can’t always be certain because Hollywood tends to embellish when it comes to ‘true’ stories, there is quite a bit more than what meets the eye.

The movie revolves around Mary Mapes (a journalist/producer who broke the Abu Ghraib story) and the uncovering of George W. Bush’s questionable military service and the behind-the-scenes detective work that dug up this story, a story that, if only more time had been taken to verify every little bit of it, could’ve possibly changed the outcome of an election.

I’m not going to say Truth is much different than many stories about journalists that have come and gone, because it’s not. It’s not a movie that reinvents the wheel in anyway, in fact there are even a couple missteps in the screenplay, but as a whole, the movie was engaging enough, despite it’s flaws and one-sided take on the story, that I was able to overlook all of it and enjoy it for what it was.

What holds the movie together is the work done by the cast, Cate Blanchett in particular. Once I walked out of the theater, I just shook my head at the fact that Sony Picture Classics decided to release Truth this year. If they had waited to release it next year, it would’ve been an easy Oscar nomination for Cate Blanchett, who has moments of being completely jaw-dropping, particularly a scene at the end where she gives an impassioned speech about the unfortunate state that journalism has sunk to.

This is more of an acting vehicle for Cate Blanchett that, unfortunately, has been wasted by releasing it in the same year that Carol is being released, for which she’s almost assured a nomination for at this point. The movie itself, though flawed, is engaging, and once everything starts to fall apart, it’s something you can’t take your eyes off of.

7.5/10