Movie Review: Nothing But The Truth

(Nothing But The Truth Official Movie Poster)

Nothing but the truth was a thriller, mystery crime movie. It revolves around Rachel Armstrong, a journalist, soccer mom, and wife. To seek the path of success in her writing career, she needs to uncover the truth behind the bombing initiatives of the U.S government in Venezuela despite the reported mistaken suspicion on the suspect of the failed assassination attempt to the president. As she finds a lead about a covert CIA Ericka Van Doren, who was directly involved in the case, she grasps the opportunity to verify the intel of her source. Van Doren denied all the allegations; however, the Sun-Times newspaper release the article about the said issue as Rachel and her editor Bonnie, discussed the accuracy and legality of the information within the article. Instead of getting a Pulitzer Prize, Rachel faces the court of law as the act of sharing top-secret information about CIA agents was seen as an act of treason. Throughout the movie, she was asked 9 times to reveal the identity of her source however, on those nine times, she stood still and refused to name her source until the end, though it means she will spend the next 3 years of her life in prison.

My initial reaction while watching the movie was fear. As a journalism student who had a glimpse of how my future world would be, I anticipate the risk and dangers I may encounter. Nevertheless, the strong and courageous moral compass of the main character taught me to become fearless when it comes to spilling the truth. I love how Rachel did not blink and startle when she was put in a fearful situation. The honesty always lingered thru her eyes and the hunger for truth was always visible on her face and that's what I aspire to be.

"And what then is the nature of government, when it has no fear of accountability." Atty. Burnside's speech at the final trial left me in an emotional state as I felt the sincerity of a Press freedom fighter on his character. Besides, I admired how this movie empowers women by casting a female protagonist and shows the perspective of a journalist and a mother. The main point of this movie was effectively delivered to the targeted audience as the plot and characters are all well-crafted and presented.

All in all, this movie was great, enlightening, relevant, and timely. Amidst the current oppression to the press in our country, movies like this were a significant tool to cure the poisonous impression on media.