Written by: Kieran Fitzgerald & Oliver Stone (screenplay), Anatoly Kucherena (novel), Luke Harding (novel)
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Nicolas Cage, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Olyphant, Lakeith Stanfield
Rated: R
Plot
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agencies' employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of distributed documents to the press.
Verdict
It's an amazing movie. The story alone is staggering and the film is expertly crafted. I'm sure its dramatized to a large degree, but I've watched Citizenfour and the big plot points are all correct. This provides a great sense of the dots connecting even if Snowden doesn't realize it's all building to the end.
Watch it.
Review
Oliver Stone does a nice job of giving his films a sense of gravitas and this is no exception. While he usually does fact based films like JFK (1991) and Platoon (1986), he's also done Any Given Sunday (1999) and Savages (2012).
It's amazing in a way. The government is illegally surveilling everyone. When it's revealed, the U.S. shrugs. What good is outrage when there's nothing you can do about it? You can claim it's only a detriment to criminals, but privacy is a basic right. The movie shows us that it's not just criminals getting surveilled. Anyone could be just a few degrees of separation from a peek. We're provided arguments to both sides, giving us a full picture of the situation and objections.
The flow and pacing are notable, opening with Snowden first meeting with a film maker to release the information. From there we reach into the past for his background. Early in the film Snowden is portrayed as a wunderkind, I have to wonder how true it is, but it helps ground the character. The movie does a great job of building this character in tandem with Gordon-Levitt's acting. We know Snowden is entering uncomfortable territory he knows is illegal, and we wonder at what point he balks. Gordon-Levitt does a great job, catching the look and mannerisms.
The moments that build Snowden's motives build very well, and we even see him get in trouble for just doing his job. He's altruistic to a degree, but that does him no favors. Snowden's girlfriend serves as a counter argument. She sees no problem with the CIA's ability to use her web cam, but in response Snowden quickly finds a detail of her personal life she doesn't want to discuss. The people have made a bargain, the price of safety, but are completely unaware.
The movie remains tense, building to payoffs and executions really well. The craft of the movie is heightened by the story. While this almost seems like some sort of fiction, it's not.
While the movie doesn't touch upon this as much as the documentary CitizenFour (2014) Snowden knew exactly what was going to happen when he released the information. Read my review of the documentary. Nothing caught him off guard. He was fully aware of the consequences when he forfeited his comfort. It's one thing to be noble, but to be noble while knowing the full extend of the consequences is something else entirely.
There's a really great transition from the actor to the actual Edward Snowden towards the end that drives home this is a true story.
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