Writer. Communist. Blacklisted. Trumbo

​Honorable and well acted, Trumbo serves as a tribute to one of Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters, Dalton Trumbo, during its darkest times … the Blacklist era. 

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​Bryan Cranston’s old glory upholds the film to serve as a nice biopic to superior screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, as his acting skills smooth out the rough patches. Cranston plays the hell out of the role of Trumbo as he grabs an Oscar nom in doing so. Due to a scare from the rise of the Communist Party, the Hollywood blacklist started up in the late ‘40s and lasted until the '60s. This was a dark period in our entertainment industry as many creative writers, producers and directors were banished from making the very thing they loved … movies.

Trumbo was one of them when he joined the Communist Party. In 1947, he was called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee, along with nine other screenwriters. Trumbo, of course, refused to name names and spent nearly a year in jail away from his family and work. From being apart of the blacklisted Hollywood 10, Trumbo lost his job, home, fortune and close friends. ​Trumbo went into hiding and continued to write incredible scripts. He used a fictitious name to write Roman Holiday and The Brave One, winning two Oscars that he couldn't take credit for. It was a damn shame.

He also went on to write classics like Spartacus and Exodus. Nothing could match Trumbo’s ego, as he wrote constantly on scripts, sometimes, in his bathtub. Booze, cigarettes and passion are what fueled Trumbo to write masterpieces for our viewing pleasure. Even when Trumbo wrote cheap scripts for the King Brothers (a hilarious John Goodman), he continued to keep his name alive. That’s what the film serves as, a tribute to a man whose talent wrote some of the greatest scripts shown on screen. In the end, Trumbo had the last word. 

Trumbo is rated R (Restricted). For language including some sexual references.