Power Exposed One File at a Time

Read Time:4 Minute, 44 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Cover-Up
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Genre: Documentary, Political Thriller
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 57m
Director(s): Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus
Where to Watch: releasing on Netflix December 26, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: COVER-UP positions investigative journalism not as a profession, but as a long-term act of resistance. Directed by Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus, the documentary traces the career of Seymour Hersh with a focus that is both methodical and urgent, presenting his work as a sustained challenge to institutional power rather than a series of isolated scoops. From the outset, the film makes it clear that this is not a conventional biographical overview. It is an examination of process, persistence, and the personal cost of telling stories that powerful institutions would prefer to bury. No matter your thoughts on the film, it’s somehow more timely than it was in Hersh’s prime; the parallels to today's stories are crystal clear.

The film benefits enormously from its framing. Rather than attempting to summarize every chapter of Hersh’s career, Poitras and Obenhaus concentrate on how he works, how he thinks, and why he refuses to soften his conclusions. Access to Hersh’s handwritten notes, documents, and archival material allows the documentary to move beyond reverence and into something more revealing. Watching Hersh revisit his own memories becomes a way of understanding how investigative journalism is built brick by brick, often without certainty that the structure will ever hold.

What emerges is a portrait of a man defined less by ideology than by obstinate insistence. Hersh is not framed as a myth or a flawless crusader. The film allows space for his contradictions, his more abrasive tendencies, and the professional isolation that followed many of his most consequential stories. That honesty strengthens the documentary’s credibility. By refusing to sand down Hersh’s rough edges, COVER-UP reinforces the idea that accountability rarely comes from comfortable personalities or polite conversations.

Poitras’ sensibilities are evident throughout. The film is tightly edited, leaning into tension rather than spectacle. Archival footage is deployed with restraint, contextualizing Hersh’s reporting without overwhelming the viewer with a historical recap. The emphasis remains on cause and effect: what happens when information is exposed, how institutions respond, and how narratives are reshaped or erased over time. This approach keeps the film grounded in the present, even as it revisits decades of history.

At its strongest, COVER-UP draws a direct line between past and present, making clear that the cycle of secrecy and impunity has not been broken. The documentary resists the temptation to treat Hersh’s most famous investigations as relics of a bygone era. Instead, it frames them as part of an ongoing struggle over truth, accountability, and who controls the historical record. The result is a film that feels timely without resorting to urgency for its own sake.

There are moments where the film lingers on familiar ground, particularly for viewers already well-versed in Hersh’s legacy. Certain segments risk repetition, reinforcing points that have already landed. These are minor issues, but they momentarily disrupt the documentary’s otherwise steady focus. Although for anyone who isn’t familiar with his story or iconic moments, the film provides just the right amount of history to make everyone feel welcome.

The overall impact of COVER-UP is undeniable. The film succeeds in demystifying investigative journalism while reaffirming its importance. It shows the labor behind the headlines, the isolation that follows public backlash, and the personal toll of insisting on truth in hostile environments. Hersh’s presence anchors the film, not through performance, but through persistence. He is compelling not because he seeks attention, but because he refuses to relinquish responsibility once he has uncovered something that matters.

By the time COVER-UP concludes, it becomes clear that this is not just a retrospective. It is a reminder of what journalism can be when it is allowed to operate without compromise, and of how fragile that space has become. Poitras and Obenhaus do not offer reassurance or closure. Instead, they leave the audience with an unsettling awareness of how much depends on people willing to keep asking questions long after the spotlight moves on.

COVER-UP stands as a meticulous, unflinching examination of truth-telling in a system designed to resist it. It doesn’t ask for admiration so much as attention, and it earns both through clarity, discipline, and refusal to look away.

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[photo courtesy of NETFLIX, PLAN B ENTERTAINMENT, PRAXIS FILMS, SUBMARINE DELUXE]

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