198. Mike Wallace Is Here; movie review

MIKE WALLACE IS HERE

Cert 15

91 mins

BBFC advice: Contains child sexual abuse references, upsetting scenes

Do you ever wonder from where the shout-loudest style of American journalism originated?

Well, the infamous Bill O'Reilly reckons that Mike Wallace was to blame. Indeed, told him so when Wallace asked about his on-screen aggression.

This Dogwoof documentary doesn't stack that assertion up. Instead, it shows Wallace to be fearless and probably charmless but dogged in his quest for the truth rather than trying to influence audiences politically.

Avi Belkin's movie is a warts-and-all biopic of a man who was an American TV institution for 50 years.

Wallace died eight years ago but he made an impact on US television from the 1950s when he was an actor who appeared in commercials.

This documentary chronicles how he moved on to game shows and thereafter into current affairs.

Throughout his career, this background prompted questions over whether he was a serious journalist.

Indeed, it was claimed that his researchers and producers fed him his killer lines of inquiry.

This film offers no answer to that but, undoubtedly, Wallace was the man who faced up politicians, actors and even military leaders and asked what nobody else dared to.

During this documentary, there is ample evidence of him giving his subjects a hard time. 

In parallel, he is seen to be an uncomfortable interviewee - giving frosty responses to probing about his motivations and his family life.

It is clear he was more devotedly married to his job than he was to any of his wives. And yet his son Chris, who confirms his long absences in a brief contribution to the movie, followed his father into being a celebrity TV anchor.

I found Mike Wallace Is Here to be fascinating because it harks back to a time when political investigation and the news were deemed as cornerstones of primetime television.

Wallace was never accused of that absurd 21st-century invention 'fake news' because journalists don't create stories out of nothing in the way that implies.

Reporters like Wallace may make mistakes but, like him, they get off on the truth because it often illuminates the shadows of treachery and betrayal. 

And, as a rule of thumb, those who complain most about the free press have got most to hide or at least the most to gain from shutting them up.

If only there were more Mike Wallaces and if only the public opened their eyes more.

Reasons to watch: Enthralling insight into investigative reporting

Reasons to avoid: A tad repetitive

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know?  It was the death of son, Peter, 19, in a 1962 hiking accident in Greece, that prompted Wallace to turn from entertainment to news.

The final word. Mike Wallace: "If there's anything that's important to a reporter, it is integrity. It is credibility."

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