Reviews coming in for "The Post"

The embargo has been lifted on official reviews for The Post. They started flowing in fast and furious this morning, but I wanted to wait until evening to blog about it so that we had a better sense of where this might actually end up. As this post is published the film stands at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes with 48 reviews counted, and at a score 82 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim" with 19 reviews in. Suffice it to say, the film is being very well received by critics. The numbers are going to change a bit, with the Rotten Tomatoes score probably the most likely to see  a bump up or down, as we're likely to get up to 150 additional reviews when all is said and done.

Perhaps more important, however, is that while The Post is generally getting good to great reviews, Meryl, for her lead performance as publisher Kay Graham, is getting raves. Many of the critics are saying it's her best role in years, and considering the somewhat growing impression  from some that Streep has been going too broad for many of her recent high profile roles, this apparently more subdued performance is striking a cord with even the most cynical of reviewers.

It's too early to tell for sure where the film itself will end up, but I'm guessing it'll hover around 80% on Rotten Tomatoes, which will be good for its awards chances. If it somehow managed to sneak up to 85%, we're looking at a scenario of not only the picture receiving 5+ Academy Award nominations, but a real chance for Meryl to actually win her fourth. It seems like only yesterday that I was sitting on my parents' couch, after everyone else was asleep on Christmas Eve, reading the script for The Post and thinking 'this is so up Meryl's alley.' And here we are, only eleven months later(!) and discussing the film's chances for Oscar gold in March.