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How Soon Is Too Soon? Ten Movies That Tackled Recent Historical Events

This weekend, the journalism drama Truth hits theaters, featuring Robert Redford as former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather. The film follows the controversial news report that aired in 2004, which suggested that President George W. Bush had received preferential treatment that allowed him to avoid the draft during the Vietnam war. The report relied on documents that were then revealed to have been altered, leading to the termination of CBS Evening News producer Mary Mapes (played in the film by Cate Blanchett) and Rather’s resignation in 2005.

While the film’s events took place just a decade ago, it feels like they were much more recent. Hollywood likes to turn its lenses to recent history in order to tell their stories, and Truth is no exception. As the list below proves, a ten-year period in between a historical event and a movie based upon it isn’t actually a quick turn around. Here are ten movies from the last decade that have tackled recent affairs, ranked from the time elapsed between when the events took place and the time the film hit theaters.

10

'Captain Phillips'

captain-phillips
Photo: Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

Year portrayed: 2009
Premiered in theaters: 2013
Time elapsed: 54 months

Paul Greengrass’ factual thriller stars Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips, the merchant mariner whose freight container, the MV Maersk Alabama, was hijacked by Somali pirates — one of a string of five hijackings in the Indian Ocean that took place over the course of three years. Like Greengrass’ previous film, United 93, his take on recent historical events earned a Best Picture nomination and a Best Supporting Actor nod for newcomer Barkhad Abdi. [Where to stream Captain Phillips]

9

'A Mighty Heart'

a-mighty-heart

Year portrayed: 2002
Premiered in theaters: 2007
Time elapsed: 64 months

Angelina Jolie stars as writer Mariane Pearl, whose husband Daniel was kidnapped and murdered by members of Al-Qaeda while on a reporting for the Wall Street Journal in Pakistan. The emotional drama follows Mariane after her husband’s kidnapping and her desperate attempts to work with the US government to find him. [Where to stream A Mighty Heart]

8

'United 93'

united-93
Photo: Universal Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

Year portrayed: 2001
Premiered in theaters: 2006
Time elapsed: 55 months

Paul Greengrass’ searing drama follows the account of the fourth plane that was hijacked by terrorists on September 11 and the brave and heroic attempts by its passengers to overtake their captors, resulting in the plane’s crash in rural Pennsylvania. [Where to stream United 93]

7

'Fruitvale Station'

fruitvale-station
Photo: Weinstein Company: Courtesy Everett Collection

Year portrayed: 2009
Premiered in theaters: 2013
Time elapsed: 54 months

Michael B. Jordon plays 22-year-old Oscar Grant, whose death at the hands of two BART officers in Oakland, California on New Year’s Day 2009 sparked outrage within the African-American community. The film sheds light on Grant’s final hours in an effort to paint a human portrait of a victim of racially charged violence. [Where to stream Fruitvale Station]

6

'The Bling Ring'

the-bling-ring
Photo: A24; Courtesy Everett Collection

Years portrayed: 2008-2009
Premiered in theaters: 2013
Time elapsed: 46 months

Based on Nancy Jo Sales’ 2010 Vanity Fair article “The Suspects Wore Louboutins,” Sofia Coppola’s crime satire follows Alexis Neiers and her friends as they break into the homes of Hollywood’s A-list (including Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Orlando Bloom) and treat themselves to a life of luxury. [Where to stream The Bling Ring]

5

'Fair Game'

fair-game

Years portrayed: 2003-2007
Premiered in theaters: 2010
Time elapsed: 40 months

Naomi Watts stars as Valerie Plame, the covert CIA operative whose identity was leaked to the press after her diplomat husband, Joseph C. Wilson IV (played here by Sean Penn), publicly criticized the Bush Administration’s involvement in the Iraq War. The film follows the controversy, which put Plame in harm’s way once her identity was revealed, up through the conviction of White House aide Scooter Libby in the case. [Where to stream Fair Game]

4

'The Social Network'

the-social-network
Photo: Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

Years portrayed: 2003-2008
Premiered in theaters: 2010
Time elapsed: 28 months

David Fincher’s moody film details the early years of Facebook, beginning in the Mark Zuckerberg’s Harvard dorm room and following his lawsuit with the Winklevoss twins, Zuckerberg and Facebook’s rise to fame, and the break of Zuckerberg’s friendship with co-founder Eduardo Saverin. [Where to stream The Social Network]

3

'American Sniper'

american-sniper
Photo: Warner Bros.; Courtesy Everett Collection

Years portrayed: 2001(ish)-2013
Premiered in theaters: 2014
Time elapsed: 22 months

Clint Eastwood’s biopic about Chris Kyle, the deadliest Marine sniper in American history, was a box-office smash and a critical hit, earning a slew of Oscar nominations. Despite its crowd-pleasing sensibility, many have called into question some of the tales of military glory in the film as well as in its source material, Kyle’s 2012 memoir of the same name. [Where to stream American Sniper]

2

'Zero Dark Thirty'

zero-dark-thirty
Photo: Columbia Pictures; Courtesy Everett Collection

Years portrayed: 2001-2011
Premiered in theaters: 2012
Time elapsed: 19 months

Kathryn Bigelow’s controversial film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, which hit theaters a little over a year after the most-wanted terrorist was killed, earned critical acclaim (and a bunch of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Jessica Chastain). Years later, the film still makes headlines for the way it uses torture as a narrative tool. [Where to stream Zero Dark Thirty]

1

'W.'

w
Photo: Lionsgate; Courtesy Everett Collection

Years portrayed: 1966-2008
Premiered in theaters: 2008
Time elapsed: n/a

Oliver Stone’s look at George W. Bush’s presidency (with a few flashbacks to his rowdy youth) starred Josh Brolin in the title role and was released in theaters just a month before Obama was elected to office in October 2008. [Where to stream W.]

 

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