It’s all happening today – the Chinese New Year celebrations, Valentine’s Day, and the BAFTA awards.

Signs of all those can be seen in central London, particularly around Covent Garden where we go to Palm Court Brasserie for a suitably romantic meal before heading along to Picturehouse Central to see the eagerly awaited Trumbo.

Usually I find sitting through pre-film trailers to be a dispiriting experience, but today one particular trailer stands out. It’s the trailer for ‘Hail, Caesar!’, the new Coen Brothers film, which looks very funny. Will need to go see it when it opens here in a couple of weeks time.

Bryan Cranston is superb in ‘Trumbo’, playing the main character with an understated power that honours the persecuted screenwriter’s humanity as he outshines and ultimately overcomes the mean-spirited political witch-hunting of the era.

It’s still chilling to be reminded of the humiliation of prison and ostracism that befell so many American citizens during the intolerance of those vindictive years.

On the other hand it’s reassuring that politically liberal films like this can be made today without everyone involved being hounded for their beliefs.

So while Bryan Cranston puts in a performance that is worthy of an Oscar – not that he will get one this year, as it seems that Leonardo DiCaprio’s name is already engraved on it for The Revenant – the rest of the cast are equally memorable.

Helen Mirren is disturbingly convincing as Hedda Hopper, the gossip columnist driven by vanity and political prejudice.

Michael Stuhlbarg is excellent as Edward G. Robinson, playing Robinson with a subtle mix of chutzpah and vulnerability.

John Goodman electrifies the story in a couple of wonderful scenes which delighted the audience at today’s showing, particularly the scene where he pursues a witch-hunting creep out of his office with a baseball bat.

Cranston’s speech at the end of the film is beautifully delivered and very moving, and not too long or drawn-out.

‘Trumbo’ is a great film, surpassing the high expectations I had of it.

Related Post: ‘The Infiltrator’, Picturehouse Central, London

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