The Loudest Voice

The Loudest Voice feels like the ideal mix of Vice, The Wolf Of Wall Street and The Newsroom. Seems to me reason enough to watch this. It has the political playing field and the fat suits of Vice, the manipulative and megalomaniac protagonist of The Wolf Of Wall Street and the (fact) free news gathering of The Newsroom. Russell Crowe and Roger Ailes play a man who would make any social justice warrior - okay, any sane person - climb the ceiling screaming. A man who plays with the news. A man who does not make statements himself with his transmitter, but raises insinuating questions and then lets the underbelly of the nation - with the president in pole position - do the (dirty) work. All under the motto: people don't want to be informed, they want to be very informed. It gives such a good picture of how politics and media are intertwined. It goes too far, of course, to credit the election of Trump to Roger Ailes, but The Loudest Voice does reveal a certain trend. A simmering uncanny feeling of dissatisfaction in the 'common man' that eventually led to a rudderless narcissist in the White House. That makes this series by Tom McCarthy - previously responsible for the widely acclaimed film Spotlight - not only interesting, but also very topical. You would almost want a second, third and fourth season of it. Almost then, huh.

Worth it just for the great acting by Russell Crowe. He plays a great lead role.