Although Dan Rather (Robert Redford) is the famous character in this film, the focus is on his “60 Minutes” producer, Mary Mapes (Cate Blanchett). She got the scoop that George Bush may have been AWOL during his National Guard service. The movie tracks her team as they researched and prepped the story for airing. Her close relationship with Rather provides a crucial angle, but it’s her team’s professional and political struggles that capture the heart of the controversy. Blanchett is wonderful, as always, and the story unfolds in a mostly rational, analytical process. This makes for an interesting journalistic procedural, but lacks emotional power or a sense of outrage that would have made it compelling cinema.

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