The Paper (1994)
Director
Starring
Last On
22:00-00:15
Fri 9th Jul 2010 135m
ITV3
Synopsis
Ever since Walter Burns and Hildy Johnson burst on to the screen in The Front Page in 1931, Hollywood has had a penchant for tough-talking, wisecracking newspaper stories. Here, Michael Keaton heads a formidable cast as a city editor on the New York Sun in this highly engaging and absorbing look at 24 hours in the life of an ailing tabloid. As Keaton faces another day of decisions, deadlines and compromises - both job-wise (he's being head-hunted by rival editor Spalding Gray) and personally (his pregnant wife, Marisa Tomei, is feeling neglected) - director Ron Howard deftly ties the numerous story strands together with some vibrantly snappy dialogue. Although Keaton provides the narrative focus, this is very much an ensemble film, with everyone getting a headline moment of their own. Robert Duvall is superb as the editor who has sacrificed his life for the paper, while Glenn Close cleverly shows the difficulties of being a woman with power over men. Occasionally a touch of Drop the Dead Donkey humour might not have gone amiss, but the script (co-written by The Lost World's David Koepp) captures the pace and pettiness of a newsroom with such accuracy that you'll be left wondering how any publication ever meets its deadline.