Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down The White House (2017)

After the death of J. Edgar Hoover, FBI agent Mark Felt (Liam Neeson) becomes the bureau's Associate Director from May 1972 through June 1973. It is during this interim that the Watergate break in occurs and the White House suppresses the FBI's investigation. Furious, Felt releases information to both Time and the Washington Post in secret and becomes known as "D**p Throat" for over 30 years until admitting his identity in 2005. Based on his autobiographies A G-MAN'S LIFE and THE FBI PYRAMID by Felt and directed by Peter Landesman. The 1976 film ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN pretty much covered this territory brilliantly (although D**p Throat's identity wasn't known at the time) so the movie has some big shoes to fill and it doesn't. Which isn't to say it's not worth watching because it is. It gives us a peek from the other side and an inside look at the complicated man who risked his position to whistleblow the attempted cover up. The film also focuses on his domestic life and usually these sequences drag a film down but in this case, thanks to an excellent complex performance by Diane Lane as Felt's wife, it only adds to the film's interest. Sadly, Lane's performance was severely cut from the release print and judging from what's left in the film, it's a real tragedy. The large supporting cast includes Tony Goldwyn, Tom Sizemore, Marton Csokas, Wendi McLendon Covey and Bruce Greenwood.