8 Days — October 05, 2017

40

8 DAYS

MOVIES

Mark Felt: The Man Who

Brought Down The White

House (PG13)

STARRING Liam Neeson, Diane Lane, Tony Goldwyn DIRECTED BY Peter Landesman

For more than 30 years, the term ‘Deep Throat’

is synonymous to two things in pop culture

— a certain notorious por...ahem, adult film, and

the nickname for the informant who leaked intel to

Washington Post journos Bob Woodward and Carl

Bernstein about the break-in at the Democratic HQ in

the Watergate Hotel that ultimately led to President

Richard Nixon’s resignation.

This political thriller is about the latter Deep Throat,

whose identity was later revealed in 2005 as FBI’s then-

Deputy Assistant Director Mark Felt, and examines the

reasons that drove the dedicated G-man (a magnetic

Liam Neeson) to become a whistleblower.

Was it patriotism? (The straight arrow couldn’t stand

idly by and let the POTUS meddle in the investigations.)

Or was it pettiness? (He was sidelined by Tricky Dicky

for a promotion after his boss J Edgar Hoover’s death.)

Writer-director Peter Landesman (Concussion) leaves

that to the viewers to figure out. Actually, he also

expects the audience to read up on all things Watergate

(see sidebar). Because if they don’t, they’ll have a

tough time tracking the names, places and events.

(There’s a superfluous sub-plot involving Felt’s runaway

daughter, who may have joined a domestic terrorist

group called the Weather Underground, that may

confuse things a bit.)

For history buffs, the movie, while gripping for most

parts, echoes like a weaker B-side to Alan J Pakula’s

All the President’s Men, the 1976 Watergate thriller told

from Woodward and Bernstein’s perspectives.

Still, if you keep up with current affairs, you can’t

help but draw an eerie parallel to how the current White

House administration is dealing with Russia’s alleged

interference in last year’s presidential elections. We all

know how the Watergate scandal ended. So will history

repeat itself? Hmmm...

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