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Alan J. Pakula (Sophie’s Choice, The Pelican Brief) directs the big-screen story of how Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein cracked the Watergate scandal that lead to President Nixon’s resignation. I love Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman enough to get through any movie, but this is not a cinematic story. Every other scene is a phone conversation. And the nature of Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation relies so much on luck and serendipity, I had a hard time getting into the mystery or the characters. Information seems to present itself more as a matter of plotting convenience than from the hard work or perseverance of its characters. For a movie about two characters, I feel like we come to the end knowing very little about either one of them. I found the movie a lot more snoozy than I was expecting, but I enjoyed the cast, which includes an Oscar-winning supporting turn from Jason Robards as the reporters’ tough-nosed editor and and a shadowy performance from Hal Holbrook as Woodward’s infamous Deep Throat source. With Jane Alexander, Martin Balsam, Meredith Baxter, Ned Beatty, Stephen Collins, Polly Holliday, and James Karen.

Academy Awards: Best Adapted Screenplay (William Goldman), Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Supporting Actor (Jason Robards)

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actress (Jane Alexander)