"Trumbo" is the story of charismatic blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and his turbulent rise from the career and life-tarnishing government brand. Based on son Christopher's play, Peter Askin's film weaves rollicking archival interviews with readings of Dalton's equally bizarre but beautiful letters (his preferred form of distance communication) read by current Hollywood royalty, including Paul Giamatti, Nathan Lane and Liam Neeson.
The actors turn the recreations into full-blown celebrations of Dalton's fantastic use of language, notably epitomized in a sarcasm-tinged note to an electric company representative and an improbably long ode to masturbation, addressed to a teenaged Christopher. And though these words are Dalton's, they are still outdone by the man himself, always in peak form, twisting words to the pleasure of all.
When the content shifts to the wide-reaching effects of his blacklisting, the opposite of Dalton's widespread joy is revealed in the attitudes of outsiders, gullible to the false judgments of communist ties. Though these blockades succeeded in handicapping the Trumbos' lives, it failed to keep Dalton from writing. Using an array of pseudonyms, Dalton completed numerous screenplays in order to provide for his family, earning an unattainable Oscar for "Roman Holiday" along the way.
As studio tensions eased, Dalton was permitted by Otto Preminger ("Exodus") and Stanley Kurbrick ("Spartacus") to display his name in the respective films' credits. In his return to uninhibited fame, Dalton used the opportunity to express the trials of his experiences and the resulting politics. The concept of men unwilling to turn informants is a key theme of "Papillon" and especially "Spartacus," in which the seminal line, "I am Spartacus," stands not only as Dalton's most famous line, but as a testament to his resiliency and honor.
Askin's film is remarkably entertaining in bringing an equally fascinating man's tale to life. The talented wit employed by Dalton Trumbo throughout his career receives a fitting tribute as his timeless words are allowed to endure.