TIFF 2025 Review: Cover-Up

Investigative reporter Seymour Hersh goes on a crusade to expose corruption and atrocities making him a polarizing figure for the masses.

Unravelling government, military and corporate cover-ups is something that Seymour Hersh has been doing his entire career.  There have been serious missteps as the credibility of sources have been called into question and the exposure of the underbelly of American foreign policy has led to members of the general public to label him unpatriotic.  Hersh certainly has a temper and a passion that make him a wild card when dealing with editors or the organizations being called into question for their actions or even the filmmakers making the documentary.

It is funny that Hersh dislikes having his journalistic practices and life going through the same scrutiny that he does to others when putting his articles together; he is unapologetic and feels it is his civic duty to expose the indiscretions of those in power, even if at times the pursuit of justice is futile.  Archive footage as well as interviews with various colleagues help to provide additional context, though unfortunately, no family members are present.  The desire to have a clearer picture of the sources providing the information is understandably something that the subject of the documentary does not want to have anything to do with for professional reasons.

I am not sure that Seymour Hersh is entirely likeable; however, he is undeniably commendable for his determination to hold people accountable for their actions.  It is unsettling to hear a mother declare that she gave the military a good boy and they turned him into a murderer.   The signature bluntness is funny and not surprisingly can rub people the wrong way, but is indicative of the desire to cut through the bullshit and go directly to the truth.  This pursuit remains unrelenting and unending for Hersh, which is both discouraging and encouraging at the same time.

The 50th Toronto International Film Festival runs September 4-14, 2025, and for more information visit tiff.net.    

Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada; he can be found at LinkedIn.