THE PAPER

As THE PAPER opens, the camera zooms in on two black youths running by a car with two dead white men in the front seat. The incident becomes the day’s headlines, and the two rival papers, THE NEW YORK SUN (THE PAPER) and THE SENTINEL, get into hot competition to solve the murders and be the first with their story. The police, meanwhile, search for the two youths, and SUN city editor Henry Hackett (Michael Keaton) wants to be first with their scoop. In the meantime, Henry’s wife Marty (Marisa Tomei) is eight months pregnant and awaiting the birth of their first child. Various personalities are highlighted in this engaging film, but one of the most sympathetic is Bernie (Robert Duvall), the Sun general editor. Another leading character is managing editor Alisha (Glenn Close), whose ambition knows no limits.

Quite an enjoyable movie, THE PAPER depicts various personalities in a newspaper office and portrays (perhaps somewhat exaggerates) the hustle and bustle of a news office. Regrettably, despite being well crafted with competent acting and a fast pace that maintains interest, THE PAPER contains so much objectionable language that it detracts from the movie. On the other hand, the denouement, with its unexpected turn-of-events and split-second timing, leaves the viewer with the idea that “this is how a newspaper operates”–whether true or not.