Joey Magidson
Investigative reporters can often be the rock stars of the journalism world. They sort of operate on their own terms, doing a service to society that rubs up against those in power. Without them, it’s not inconceivable that the Republic would already have fallen. Narrative films chronicle their work all the time, though documentaries are as good a format. One such effort is Cover-Up, which zooms in on one particular investigative journalist who has been at the forefront of some major historical moments. Playing at the New York Film Festival, it’s a journalism fan’s dream.
Cover-Up looks at Seymour Hersh, a truth-seeker who rankled politicians and those in power for decades. The doc sometimes plays like a thriller of sorts, as we follow his work throughout the years. With a little added drama and gunplay, this could have easily turned into a political conspiracy thriller from the 1970s. Hersh may not look like Warren Beatty or Robert Redford, but in another world, they would have played him.
The documentary is a portrait of Seymour Hersh, who for over a half century, has been relentless in seeking out the truth. Whether it was shining a light on the My Lai massacre in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War, the CIA’s various plots to assassinate foreign leaders throughout the years, all the way to the lies of the Iraq invasion and torture going on at Abu Ghraib, Hersh has been a leading reason for actual political change in America.
At 88, he’s able to look back a bit, surrounded by his old files, while the doc looks back as well, while never ignoring some of his own controversies. At one point, Hersh remarks how no one ever likes the messenger, and he’s certainly been an essential messenger for 60 years plus.
Directors Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus present Seymour Hersh as someone truly dedicated to the cause. In some cases, his brusque personality has been an albatross around his neck, but in the end, it has always been about the truth. Obenhaus and Poitras are going closer to warts and all than hero worship, but it’s clear that the value what he’s done, particularly these days. Cover-Up is occasionally dry, but then, other times you’d swear this is a thriller unfolding before your eyes. That it all happened is utterly fascinating.
Cover- Up is not Citizenfour, so Poitras fans should keep that in mind, but it’s another quality investigative journalism documentary. It obviously has a welcome home at NYFF this year, and will have one as well coming up on Netflix, but the hope is that what Hersh has crusaded for will not become a thing of the past. Here’s hoping…
SCORE: ★★★
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