A relief

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2017)

Alan Pakula was a director with a limited range. He had his hits--Klute, Sophie's Choice and this film--but he also had misses like Rollover and Comes a Horseman owing to lack of empathy with these genres. Give him a thriller with lots of menace and he is in his element as he is here.
The acting is really fine. Everyone remembers Jason Robards and Jack Warden as the newspapermen, but Jane Alexander as the nervous CREEP employee is excellent, as is Stephen Collins as Sloan, a minor figure but touching in his desire not to get trapped in wrongdoing. Lindsey Crouse has a small part as a young reporter with scruples.
I watch this at least once a year, but this being the year of Trump, I know I'm going to be watching much more. There is no chance of newspapers bringing down a president--we are beyond that period of history--but it is comforting to remember when they could.