‘Truth’ trailer: Is this Cate Blanchett’s finest American accent?

Robert Redford is Dan Rather. Cate Blanchett is “60 Minutes II” producer Mary Mapes, who lost her job when the authenticity about a story concerning George W. Bush's alleged draft-dodging came into question. The movie is “Truth.” It's got gritty “All the President's Men”-type journo intrigue all over it, so raise a glass of scotch to the ghost of Jason Robards and enjoy the new trailer.

And hey, Elisabeth Moss and Topher Grace are here too!

Rather, who lost the job he had with CBS News since 1962 thanks to the fallout, gave his full endorsement of “Truth” after seeing it premiere in Toronto.

But here's today's essay question: Is this Cate Blanchett's best American accent?

I was, frankly, awed by the voice coming out of her mouth. This seems like a pretty obvious Joan Allen role, no? It doesn't even sound like Cate to me. Then again most American accents she's committed to film are eccentric character voices like Bob Dylan's in “I'm Not There,” Katharine Hepburn's in “The Aviator,” the New Orleans patois of “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” or the title character's nervous Northeast quaver in “Blue Jasmine.” Maybe I'm just not used to Blanchett sounding like a run-of-the-mill American instead of a thrilling vamp.

For the record, my favorite accent she's ever done was the Irish brogue of “Veronica Guerin.” Not a great movie, but that's another case of a phenomenal Cate accent helping me cope with the dubious journalistic choices of her character.

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