truth_xlgWe love procedurals. Medical, police or some combination of the two, there’s an allure in watching a group of qualified – or not, if that’s where the humor comes from individuals work a problem and uncover the truth behind a problem of some sort. That’s why there are, at any given time, dozens of courtroom, police or medical dramas on the air. There’s inherent tension in unlocking the mystery, moving from one clue to the next, including going down the occasional bad road, only to right the course and eventually come to the correct conclusion. The criminal is caught. The diseases is treated. All is right with the world. To some extent it’s wish-fulfillment as we look for signs of competency in the professions we put so much necessary trust in.

But occasionally those professionals get it wrong. That’s the real-life story of Truth. The movie recounts the events leading up to a report on 60 Minutes II in the lead-up to the 2004 Presidential election on the military service of incumbent nominee George W. Bush. The CBS team of anchor Dan Rather (played by Robert Redford), producer Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett) and others discover what they believe to be evidence that Bush’s time in the National Guard had been embellished and falsified in an effort to keep him out of Vietnam. After reporting on the claims, though, it’s discovered the documents they relied on were falsified, resulting in a situation that included Rather resigning from the network.

The Posters

There’s nothing all that exciting about the movie’s one-sheet, which is a standard two-part design with Blanchett on the top half and Redford on the bottom. Much of the real estate at the top of the poster is given over to early accolades for the movie from some trade magazines while the middle strip that separates the actors lists the rest of the cast and houses the title treatment. It’s not the most exciting design, but the purpose here is to highlight Blanchett and Redford and it accomplishes that goal.

The Trailers

The trailer opens with Rather being vetted for some sort of award before his producer starts to lay out the story they’ll be investigating about Bush’s military record. But things quickly go south as more and more questions about the memos and other information start to be asked, causing lots of wringing of hands, hearings and more as the story continues to unravel.

It’s a good trailer, albeit a little dry. There’s no way to make a movie about not just investigative journalism but the explanation and investigation into investigative journalism all that pulse-pounding, that’s just a fact. But the trailer sells an adult drama featuring a solid cast that should appeal to not just fans of that kind of movie but also a liberal political audience ready to revisit some questions about the previous president.

Online and Social

The movie’s official website opens by playing the trailer, which you can close unless you want to watch it again (which I recommend).

After you do that a menu opens up at the top, the first section of which is “Synopsis” which shares a very detailed outline of the movie as well as the substantial credits of the talent involved. Because the movie has been screened for a while now and word-of-mouth is essential for titles like this, “Reviews” gets its own section containing a gallery of pull quotes from critics who have seen it at festivals and elsewhere.

truth pic 1

“Cast” has a list of all the major players in front of the camera and if you click their names you see again just how accomplished most of these actors are. Same deal with “Filmmakers,” but for those behind the camera.

“Who’s Who” is a nice touch and something that I like to see in these movies based on a true story. Segmented into four groups, you can read brief descriptions of the real life people portrayed in the movie. These aren’t super-detailed, but they at least give you some background if you’re looking for it.

Rounding out the site, “Gallery” has about 20 stills and “Trailer” just has the one trailer again.

The movie didn’t get its own social network profiles but it did tag along on Sony Classics’ core Twitter and Facebook pages, which featured stills, clips and other photos from the movie’s publicity and media blitz.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions

I think there has been some online advertising done but I’m failing at pointing to anything specifically. But I’m pretty sure – sorry, that’s the best I can do – I’ve seen a couple banner ads here and there across the web.

There were also at least a couple TV spots run that focus mainly on the fallout from the report instead of the led up to it. It’s tight and dramatic, playing up the investigation that Rather and his team is subjected to.

Media and Publicity

When the movie debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival it got – in addition to other generally positive reviews – an endorsement from Dan Rather himself (THR, 9/14/15), who praised the film for its accuracy. 

As expected, the film’s impending release would bring the issue of 60 Minutes II’s reporting on the issue back to the spotlight, with the studio and producers of the film sparring with CBS executives on how much truth there is in the movie’s retelling.

truth pic 3

Blanchett would talk briefly about the film following an advance screening.

Overall

It’s not a huge, massively scaled campaign but that’s to be expected for a character-driven drama about a decade-old scandal about political journalism. But it hits the right notes by emphasizing the performances by Redford and Blachett as well as the tick-tock of how the story came together and then fell apart. If I were going to guess – and that’s what I do here – I’d say this is more or less exactly how the movie will play out. For fans of this kind of movie the trailer and rest of the campaign, while not the shiniest thing they’ll see, should connect well.

Comments are closed.