Trumbo

Aroview: Prominent blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo – the most famed of the alleged Communist sympathising ‘Hollywood 10’ – is the honoree of this moving biography-through-film history.

A powerful and eloquent writer, Trumbo’s vast resume (including a lone directorial credit, JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN) colours the account of anti-communist activities and McCarthyism with a cinematic backdrop, however it is the subject’s home life which fills the documentary with its emotional core. Of particular note, Trumbo’s intimate and heartrending letters (‘performed’ by a cast of actors as per the stage monologues they previously surfaced in) offer a poignant window into the professional ostracism and personal anguish he endured.