“The Post” is among the many brilliant features up for the Best Picture award at the 2018 Academy Awards, and it shows Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep doing what they do best.

Set following the Vietnam war, the film portrays newspaper heiress Katherine Graham’s struggle between freedom of the press and the legal implications of spilling government secrets.

“The Post” went into wide release on Jan. 12 and grossed over $19.3 billion domestically on its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. The film made an appearance in most of the major categories at the Golden Globes and now heads off to the Oscars for its Best Picture nomination among others.

The story follows Graham, played by Streep, who must decide whether or not to reveal a top-secret government cover-up dealing with the Vietnam War. In doing so, she’s threatened with legal repercussions, the closure of her newspaper and the possibility of life in prison.

The film is based on the true story of Katherine Graham, who was the first female publisher of a major American newspaper. The Washington Post, once a small family-owned newspaper, was handed over to her following the suicide of her husband. Despite her star persona, Streep manages to disappear into the character, and the performance can certainly be described as subtle, but compelling. Hanks, too, drifts away from his “everyman” schtick for this role and manages to bring a layer of complexity to a conflicted character with a strong personal agenda.

The importance of journalistic fact has and always will be crucial, and this film exposes modern audiences to the significance news media had in past decades.

The worldview of the film treats political corruption as a given and exposure as a responsibility of mass media sources.

The potentially detrimental decisions made by Graham in the film are treated with an air of bravery; the film emphasizes an overall consideration for the greater good. “The Post” serves as a reminder that messengers of truth are always the good guys and genuine facts are incorruptible. Though this film deals in events that occurred decades ago, the message of media ethics and the power of information keeps it relevant to the current day in a time when the president is regularly calling journalism fake news.

In recent years, Spielberg seems unable to help himself from injecting self-congratulatory fluff into his historical films, and “The Post” is no exception. In moments that feel in equal parts condescending and weighed down with hubris, Spielberg seems to feel the need to remind the audience of the importance of the moments onscreen, as opposed to letting the bravery of the characters and the odds against them speak for themselves.

This goes for “tongue-in-cheek” moments of historical context as well. While the historical backdrop is vivid and fitting for most of the film, sly references to future events take the viewer out of the film and feel like cheap jabs for laughs, or rather, knowing smirks.

Overall, the film is successful. It’s well-edited, good-looking and the performances are standout all around. More importantly, it communicates an important message about fact and ethics in a crucial time for journalism. History is on the side of the truth and always has been. Even the smallest of outlets can become catalysts for change, despite overwhelming odds.