(CNN) Roger Ailes was a larger-than-life figure, and Russell Crowe rises to that challenge with an epic performance in "The Loudest Voice," capturing the bravado and bombast of the Fox News founder as well as his well-documented abuses. The result is a compelling if flawed condensation of Gabriel Sherman's book, worth watching for anyone interested in the political-media nexus where Ailes reigned.

Instead of a conventional biography, "The Loudest Voice" illustrates Ailes' influence and appetites through a series of key moments, from the founding of Fox News -- the ultimate act of defiance toward his former NBC bosses -- to the Sept. 11 attacks to his visceral response to Barack Obama. Ailes particularly relished that last fight, after insisting that the then-candidate's middle name, Hussein, always be used.

Taken together, the episodes demonstrate the way Ailes used his media perch to pursue ideological objectives, steamrolling over anyone who got in his way, and resisting any efforts to constrain him. That included intrusions by News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch (Simon McBurney), ostensibly his boss.

Ailes not only protected his turf but commanded intense loyalty from those around him, many of whom turned a blind eye to his reported transgressions. The hostile environment extended not only to his alleged behavior toward female employees but ordering a subordinate to deal with similar allegations against star anchor Bill O'Reilly by paying off an accuser.

"Look at his numbers," Ailes mumbles. "Just take care of it." (Ailes, who died in 2017, staunchly defended himself in regard to the complaints, as has O'Reilly, but both were forced to leave the network.)

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