"When I started [acting], drama was the way of expressing protest and dissent. I don't think there's enough of it now." Actor Martin Shaw


Considering today's political and cultural climate, I thought Martin Shaw's comment was particularly apt. This past Saturday in Los Angeles, the Fountain Theatre held a one-night-only live reading of William Goldman's screenplay, "All the President's Men". Bradley Whitford played Bob Woodward and Joshua Molina was Carl Bernstein. The two protagonists were, of course, the reporters from the "Washington Post" newspaper who helped to uncover the Watergate scandal that led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. The evening was a celebration and reminder of the importance of free expression and investigative journalism in a functioning democracy.

I also mention Martin Shaw because I recently watched the final two episodes of his series "Inspector George Gently", which originally aired in 2017. Each episode of the series is a stand-alone ninety-minute film, and are often better than many of the feature films I watch. "Gently Liberated", the next to last episode, takes place in 1970 but is extremely relevant. The plot revolves around a woman unjustly convicted of murder. Arguments concerning sexual harassment, domestic violence, and gender equality arise organically in Charlotte Wolf's fine screenplay.

Finally, a word about integrity that concerns film critics and social media. Richard Roeper, who writes about film for the "Chicago Sun-Times", is currently suspended pending an investigation into his Twitter account. Roeper allegedly paid a company to inflate the number of his followers on Twitter. The numbers range in the tens of thousands. Is quantity really better than quality?


Here's the latest article from the Drama Movies site at BellaOnline.com.

Three Capsule Film Reviews
Reviews of "Janis: Little Girl Blue", "Stealing Charlie Chaplin", and "Blade Runner 2049".

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art63808.asp

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Angela K. Peterson, Drama Movies Editor
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