"I think the film is beautifully realised. His legacy as a journalist was recorded - as it were - well, and certainly the important issues of the '50s - or even today - are delivered and presented to the audience in a rather honest and objective way"
About this Quote
The hesitations and parenthetical softeners tell the real story. “Recorded - as it were - well” reads like someone feeling for the right register: reverent, but not sanctimonious; definitive, but aware that any retelling is an interpretation. That little “as it were” is a tell that he knows the film is constructing memory, not simply preserving it. He wants credit for care, not for omniscience.
Then comes the tricky claim: “honest and objective.” In 2026, calling a film “objective” is almost a provocation, because audiences understand how selection and framing work. Strathairn’s move is to pre-empt accusations of agenda by positioning the movie as fair-minded reportage, in line with the journalist it depicts. The pivot from the 1950s to “even today” is the sales pitch: the past isn’t museum glass; it’s a mirror. He’s cueing viewers to read the film as civic medicine - a story about the old fights that still haven’t ended, delivered with a restraint that signals credibility rather than heat.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Strathairn, David. (2026, January 15). I think the film is beautifully realised. His legacy as a journalist was recorded - as it were - well, and certainly the important issues of the '50s - or even today - are delivered and presented to the audience in a rather honest and objective way. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-the-film-is-beautifully-realised-his-140793/
Chicago Style
Strathairn, David. "I think the film is beautifully realised. His legacy as a journalist was recorded - as it were - well, and certainly the important issues of the '50s - or even today - are delivered and presented to the audience in a rather honest and objective way." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-the-film-is-beautifully-realised-his-140793/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I think the film is beautifully realised. His legacy as a journalist was recorded - as it were - well, and certainly the important issues of the '50s - or even today - are delivered and presented to the audience in a rather honest and objective way." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-think-the-film-is-beautifully-realised-his-140793/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.




