The story of two journalists who brought down a president

Rating: 10/10 (26 August 2018)

This film tells to story of Washington Post journalists, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's investigation into a break in at the Democratic Party's headquarters in the Watergate building in Washington DC. From the start something looks wrong; four men have been arrested but it looks as if they were hired for the job; a cheque links one of the men with a member of the campaign to re-elect President Richard Nixon. No other papers are particularly interested in the story but The Post sticks with it and the two reporters doggedly follow the trail of clues that lead all the way to the White House and those closest to the president.
This is one of the stories that most people will know about how it started, with the Watergate break-in, and who it ended, with the resignation of President Richard Nixon, but might not know too much about the details of the investigation that brought him down. There is no action as such and a relatively low sense of danger for most of the film but it is still gripping. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman do really great work as Woodward and Bernstein and the rest of the cast are also impressive. While it was made over forty years ago and depicts an investigation in a pre-internet era it doesn't feel dated. The way the story is filmed feels very real and this feeling of reality is increased by the use of actual news footage of certain events. Overall this is definitely a film to watch if you are interested in US politics, enjoy stories about investigative journalism or just want to watch a good film.