In yet another curious multiple-feature that happened this year (after the three Wonder Woman movies and two Dunkirk movies), Mark Felt and The Post both tackled Nixon-era scandals. Perhaps this combination isn't quite so curious as it is timely, but what's interesting to me is that neither of these films attempt to re-create Nixon himself. Both utilize stock footage of the former president while dramatizing efforts by reporters and politicians and aristocrats and bureaucrats to bring down the administration. Mark Felt would pair well with All the President's Men, too, were you to brave an all-day marathon of political thrillers set in the early 1970s. These films together would be as fascinating as a marathon of Nixon movies; are double marathons a thing?
Unfortunately, Mark Felt alone isn't much to look at. Dismal and slow, it drones on much like Liam Neeson's voice, forced and gravelly. One would think that a film detailing the many secrets of one of history's most famed whistleblowers wouldn't be so anticlimactic, but here we are. It's as though writer and director Peter Landesman (Parkland, Concussion), so desperate to engage critically with those famed journalists Woodward and Bernstein, has either bitten off more than he can chew or thought so deeply about this period in history that he has made it almost inaccessible to viewers.
Besides the tossing around of names and titles like confetti, the screenplay doesn't inform us of some of the more important details of the story. And before you say "movies can show, not tell", I'm letting you know this movie doesn't show much beyond what it says. Everything is dimly lit in bluish lighting, making of course the mystery of "Deep Throat" enjoyable to watch if too atmospheric for its own good. While the huge ensemble cast gives some fine performances, I couldn't help but feel the varied storylines were individually terribly weak and unfocused. Diane Lane, for example, makes only a few appearances, despite her top billing, most of which take away drastically from the politically thrilling pacing of the movie. It's not her fault, mind, but it constantly left me wanting more.
Then again, there are a few surprising and exciting scenes that should be mentioned. Liam Neeson plays Felt like a sphinx, his silvery hair glinting with his eyes, a total enigma to his peers and his audience. He embarks on several small plot arcs, the first of which involves J. Edgar Hoover's death and the power struggle left in his wake. A later one concerns Felt's daughter (Maika Monroe), who has abandoned her family for a part in the counterculture; this comes as a shock, as Felt has spent most of the film and is eventually indicted for aggressive and illegal actions against counterculture groups. Of course, the real heart of the move lies with, well, the lies told between the FBI and the White House. When politicians start sticking their fingers in FBI investigations, Neeson's character gets righteously riled, and the hairs on my arms stood up thinking about America 2017.
Oh, and for heaven's sake, was the title really necessary? Just Mark Felt or even Deep Throat would have been better.
IMDb: Mark Felt
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