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Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009
With James Spader as a cool, collected Daniel Ellsberg, FX's "The Pentagon Papers" paints a chillingly familiar picture of an administration fixated on military action in the face of serious risks.
Mar 8, 2003 | "The threat to the free nations of southeast Asia has long been clear ... In recent months, the actions of the North Vietnamese regime have become steadily more threatening."
-- President Lyndon B. Johnson, Aug. 5, 1964
"Saddam Hussein is a threat to our nation ... I think the threat is real, and so do a lot of other people in my government. And since I believe the threat is real, and since my most important job is to protect the security of the American people, that's precisely what we'll do."
-- President George W. Bush, March 6, 2003
"It's naive and even irresponsible for a grown-up today to get her or his information about foreign policy and war and peace exclusively from the administration in power."
-- Daniel Ellsberg, Salon, Nov. 19, 2002
With our country at the brink of war, Daniel Ellsberg's words feel more relevant than ever. Of course, most of us are quick to count ourselves among the responsible grown-ups, those smart enough to take the administration's biases into account before believing its message. Still, the shock of a sneak attack like 9/11 has the power to mess with our psychological bearings as a nation. We'd like to believe that the administration has privileged, damning information about the Iraqi regime, because we'd prefer to believe that there's some way of predicting and preventing future terrorist attacks. Otherwise, the insecurity we face on a daily basis becomes almost intolerable.
But, as the made-for-TV film "The Pentagon Papers" demonstrates, carefully evaluating information our leaders give us isn't a cynical or skeptical act. ("The Pentagon Papers" premiered Sunday night on FX and will be repeated several times; check your local listings.) Historically, American leaders have engaged in military action even when presented with firm evidence that they have little to gain and thousands of lives to lose. Ellsberg's experiences drive home the fact that we have a responsibility, as citizens, to meticulously analyze the information we're given, and to unflinchingly confront the possibility of deception by our leaders.
The film follows Ellsberg's life from his initial work for the Rand Corp. through his career at the Pentagon, where he watched decision-makers lead the country into a deepening involvement in Southeast Asia, to his two years of service in Vietnam. That was followed, of course, by his eventual decision to copy 7,000 pages of secret documents that became known as the Pentagon Papers and leak them to the New York Times, which made history by publishing them, beginning in June 1971. Considering the challenges involved in depicting the Vietnam conflict in a fresh way while dramatizing Ellsberg's courageous act -- which mostly consisted of an extended tango with a tireless Xerox machine -- it's impressive that the filmmakers manage to portray Ellsberg's transformation from hawkish wonk to outspoken peace activist and whistle-blower so stylishly and convincingly.
James Spader not only looks a lot like the young Ellsberg, but he plays the focused, detail-oriented researcher with impressive intensity. As Ellsberg faces down the horrors of Vietnam, or refuses to cave in to his superiors at Rand, Spader portrays Ellsberg's quiet determination and smoldering resolve to do the right thing, no matter what the pressures or circumstances. Given the high stakes of these scenes, Spader might have surrendered to the temptation to overact or emote melodramatically. But instead of depicting Ellsberg as a valiant, breast-beating hero, Spader takes the risk of presenting him as low-key, pensive and reserved, almost to the point of being unlikable. As a result, Ellsberg feels like a real, knowable human being. When he begins to open up to the new influences and ideas that eventually lead him to do his part to stop the war, the viewer experiences his transformation more intimately.
Thanks to the subtlety with which Spader handles his role, a little goes a long way. In what at first appears to be just another peace rally scene, featuring a diverse gaggle of groovy-looking long-haired hippies clapping and yelling, "Right on!" Ellsberg listens as a square-looking, baby-faced teenager, Randy Kehler, earnestly announces his intention to resist the draft. He's not moving to Canada or seeking conscientious objector status, but rather allowing himself to be arrested.
"I feel that the best way, the only way I can serve my country is to sacrifice myself," says Kehler. "When the day comes that I'm released from prison, I'll wear a permanent mark. Never will I be a CEO, never will I serve in office and never again will I be trusted by many. But I'm willing to surrender these things. That permanent mark fixed upon me? I will wear it with pride." By the end of this speech, Kehler and Ellsberg might as well be the only ones in the room, the parallel close-up shots of their faces reflecting their link.
