There are some films that you become so familiar with that watching them, no matter what their genre or subject matter, becomes soothing.

 

I have a few but at the moment I am craving curling up on the sofa next to the beloved with a brew and watching All The President’s Men. It is comforting to watch the Watergate scandal unfold in the current political climate.

 

It’s the story of Woodward and Bernstein investigating the break in at the Watergate hotel. Rather than a triumphant exposé which ends with Nixon’s resignation, this is the story of the hard work, the paranoia, the fear and the wrong turns that they had to go through to get the story. And the story brought down an administration.

 

There’s so much to savour. The relationship between Woodward (Robert Redford) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) is difficult and abrasive. The atmosphere at The Washington Post is collegiate and collaborative, while the White House staff are isolated and scared.

 

The script by William Goldman is brilliant and his book about his work, Adventures in the Screen Trade, is well worth a read. You’ll be shouting at the screen, you’ll be frustrated by the wrong turns and you’ll be waiting for the moment when the truth comes out. You can enjoy knowing that Nixon resigned and that should give us all hope.