I don't typically watch the news anymore. If I do it's only because it's on in the background at a restaurant or friends house. I don't even have cable. I get my news updates and read the latest stories on the internet. Naturally, that means Truth makes me feel like a horrible individual. This is the case because the film deals in the purity of investigative journalism, the integrity it was once synonymous with and the standards that every great reporter would ideally hold themselves to. Of course, the truth is also relative and in his directorial debut James Vanderbilt (who has written screenplays such as Zodiac and White House Down) explores this idea by telling the behind-the-scenes story of the 2004 60 Minutes investigation of then-President George W. Bush's military service in the Texas Air National Guard. This investigation, led by producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett), comes under heavy scrutiny after the legitimacy of a handful of documents that question the conduct and participation of Bush while in the National Guard are thought to be fake. Vanderbilt ultimately plays things safe and goes with a rather trusted formula and conventional approach a la any newsroom drama you've ever seen, but because the story in and of itself is so interesting (as is also typically the case with newsroom dramas) and given the way the film deals with the subsequent firestorm of criticisms and accusations that cost anchor Dan Rather (Robert Redford) and Mapes their careers it more than sustains itself and delivers a solid if not exceptional venture.
