Laura Poitras’ latest, “Cover-Up,” one of the best docs of the year, has been acquired by Netflix and will be given 2025 theatrical release for Oscar consideration.
The doc is a direct encounter with Seymour Hersh, and at 88 he still comes off like a man allergic to bullsh*t. For nearly six decades, Hersh has been reporting truth bombs the mainstream press would rather sweep under the carpet—My Lai, Abu Ghraib, Watergate, CIA spying.
Watching “Cover-Up” feels like an encounter with history, journalism, and a man who won’t stop fighting the powerful, even as the powers-that-be continuously aim to shut him down. Poitras has always been fascinated by anti-establishment fighters, from Edward Snowden to Julian Assange, and now Hersh had been added to her canon of films.
As for the documentary Oscar race, it’s a tight one, always one of the more interesting categories to follow, with titles such as “Cover-Up,” “The Perfect Neighbor,” and “2000 Meters to Andrivka” as the frontrunners.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.