Nothing screams a great newspaper thriller more than two editors fighting each other while the printing press spits out the next day’s edition. It is Michael Keaton against Glenn Close In The paperan excellent dramedy thriller from the 90s about a New York tabloid newspaper that tries to assert itself as an outsider among the big players. Director Ron Howard skillfully navigates through the brothers’ razor-sharp script, David Koepp (Spider Man) And Stephen Koeppwhich feels like a fever dream mixture of classic newspaper films like His girl for special occasions, All Presidents Menand Warren Beatty’s paranoid thriller, The Parallax ViewThe result is a fascinating mix of screwball comedy and paranoia.
The paper has been quietly running on Netflix for some time and will be leaving the streamer at the end of the month. Released in 1994, the film features one of Keaton’s most eccentric performances as a vulgar, secret editor who will do anything to get the best story of the day. For those who have seen his wild charm in Beetlejuice and its new sequel, Beetlejuice BeetlejuiceKeaton carries the same mischievous energy within him The paperwhich also delivers one of Glenn Close’s scariest roles. Close plays a co-editor determined to win at all costs in a sexist work environment. The paper was highly praised by critics and was an impressive box office success. The cast includes Marisa Tomei, Robert Duval, Randy QuaidAnd Jason AlexanderIf you decide to go beyond the algorithm and the top 10 movies list on Netflix, you will be rewarded with a fast-paced journey through a gloriously grimy ’90s New York.
What is “The Paper” about?
Michael Keaton plays Henry Hackett, an editor and journalist at the run-down tabloid New York Sun. His wife and colleague Martha Hackett (Marisa Tomei) is currently on maternity leave and is struggling with the fears of becoming a mother and the possibility of her career being put on hold due to her husband’s workaholic attitude. The film takes place over the course of one day, Highlighting the grueling 24-hour news cycle that forces journalists to work to tight deadlines and limited scope. The day begins when two black teenagers walk past the scene of a double murder involving two white men who worked on Wall Street. Subsequently, despite their innocence, the two become victims of racism because of the color of their skin and are arrested.
The arrest becomes the biggest headline of the day, and when Henry suspects her innocence, he devotes the day to reporting the real story before the evening deadline. His biggest problem is his colleague Alicia Clark (Glenn Close), a stern and tactless journalist who wants to make sure her headline appears on the front page of the next papers and not Henry’s, even if it means hiding the truth. The film is filled with New York character actors playing bloodthirsty reporters who help Henry with the case. Perhaps the liveliest addition to the cast is Randy Quaid in a scene-stealing role as Michael McDougal, a cowboy who has moved to the big city and is being hunted by a city official for his caustic columns on parking. Robert Duvall plays the paper’s ailing boss, Bernie White, who leaves it up to Henry and Alicia to decide the headline for the next issue, leading to all-out war.
Michael Keaton plays an eccentric, workaholic journalist in “The Paper”
Hell hath no fury like Michael Keaton on a mission for the truth. Although he is not a superhero like in Batmanhe still feels like some sort of everyday avenger, as he goes against the grain of what every other newspaper is reporting, dipping in and out of seedy establishments to tell the public the real story. Keaton’s introductory scene introduces us to the unforgiving world of journalism, and director Ron Howard charges the film with energy by filming Keaton as if he were a surgeon preparing for a high-risk operation. By the time he wakes up in his bed in yesterday’s clothes, his heavily pregnant wife Martha waking up next to him, casting a disdainful look at her work-obsessed husband, we already know everything we need to know about Henry Hackett – he lives for his job.
Keaton jumps out of bed, grabs a can of Coke, his lifeline for the day, and plunges headlong into the chaos of the newsroom and The paper. Keaton has a surplus of fantastic monologues from the Koepps, starting with when he walks into the Sun office in the morning and is immediately bombarded by his co-workers. His portrayal of Henry is a brilliant mix of slapstick comedy and drama. His best and most outrageous moment comes during a particularly memorable phone call with a rival editor at The Sentinel. Keaton screams, twists and yells into the phone, using cartoonish theatrics in the best possible way. He almost never manages to go completely off the rails, and The paper gives him the rare opportunity. His role as Henry is just as captivating as his role as Boston Globe reporter Robby Robbinson in Headlights, where Keaton plays another rebellious journalist early in his career.
Glenn Close and Michael Keaton fight in “The Paper”
Journalists’ strongest weapons are their words, but their fists can also be useful. A decisive moment in The paper comes after the slowly building tension between Close’s and Keaton’s characters Alicia and Henry, who must decide what the next day’s headline will be while their boss Bernie (Robert Duvall) gets drunk at the local bar. Ron Howard stages one of the most exciting scenes ever filmed in a press room as stunned workers watch Alicia and Henry brawl. Close delivers her best physical comedy and the most grueling stunt work outside of A fateful affairand against none other than the man who played Batman back then.
Close is at her comedic best, striking first and using her body like a rag doll as she lunges at Keaton and attacks him. Keaton doesn’t hold back either as he wrestles Close up and down the stairs, both bleeding. Although Howard shoots the scene with a crazy touch as they scream, attack and thrash, it’s still nerve-wracking as the integrity of the newspaper is at stake. Henry is a symbol of the media’s responsibility to convey the truth to the public, while the vicious and immoral Alicia symbolizes the corruption of the industry, whose goal is to make more money by spreading false truths. The fight scene between Close and Keaton is the film’s masterpiece, showing both actors more liberated and crazed than ever.
Ron Howard directs a realistic 24-hour thriller shot entirely in NYC
The paper Shot entirely on location in New York City, it’s a trip back in time to an era before social media and iPhones took over, when people relied on journalists to deliver the most important news every day. The 24-hour news cycle is a grueling, exhausting job for journalists, and Howard directs. The paper at a lightning pace with short, quick scenes that fit the comedic dialogue and keep the film lighthearted. The film’s most entertaining scenes are those in the Sun offices, where character actors waltz in and out of the frame, carrying out Henry’s orders, in New York accents that are rarely heard in the film and in nostalgic ’90s power suits.
Keaton and Close both carry the film, but it would be criminal to leave out the excellent Robert Duvall in one of his more tender roles: as a workaholic who must accept that his family has abandoned him because he can’t quit his job. He serves as a dangerous foreshadowing of Henry as he repeatedly forgoes his heavily pregnant, anxious wife Martha for a great story instead. The intimate way Howard films Keaton and Tomei gives the film a more human dimension.which turns a gripping newspaper thriller into a touching love story. As the series will leave Netflix at the end of the month, don’t run or walk to catch your eyes on The paper.
The paper is currently available to stream on Netflix in the US
WATCH ON NETFLIX
