Four stars. Rated R, for brief nudity and frequent profanity
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 9.16.16
Oliver Stone’s films have
polarized viewers for three decades — ever since 1986’s Platoon — and this one won’t be any different.
Indeed, it’s difficult to find a
recent public figure who has divided opinion as much as Edward Snowden
(although a current presidential candidate comes close).
 |
| Having assembled their information into a series of revelatory articles ready for publication, the team of unlikely conspirators — from left, documentarian Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo), Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and Guardian journalists Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) and Ewan MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson) — discuss, via teleconference, how best to release the stories. |
Stone’s dip into these
tempestuous waters — he also co-wrote the script, with Kieran Fitzgerald, based
on material gathered from books by Luke Harding and Anatoly Kucherena — isn’t
likely to change any minds. Neither will this film’s slant surprise anybody
familiar with Stone’s über-liberal proclivities. No question: This is a
sympathetic, strawberry-lensed portrait of — depending on your point of view — one of our country’s
most heinous traitors, or one of its most conscientious whistle-blowers.
The issue itself also frustrates
fence-sitters. Civil liberties types, with a healthy respect for George Orwell,
fear the totalitarian potential of an unchecked government Big Brother. Those
favoring security — at any cost — argue that such a position is naïve, at a
time when headlines are dominated by the grotesque behavior of terrorists who
operate outside of national boundaries.
In fairness, Stone’s film carefully
takes no position in that particular argument. The primary goal of any
mainstream drama, even one drawn from actual events, is to give a (hopefully)
talented cast the opportunity to inhabit engaging characters involved in a
compelling storyline.
In this respect, Snowden succeeds, in great part because
of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s thoroughly convincing portrayal of the title
character. Viewers exiting the theater may not agree with Snowden’s actions,
but the emotional and philosophical journey that gets him there is presented thoughtfully and persuasively
(assuming, of course, that we accept Harding and Kucherena’s vision of the
man).
Thematically, this film echoes
Stone’s depiction of Ron Kovic, in 1989’s Born
on the Fourth of July. In both cases, we’re introduced to young, true-blue American
patriots — believers in baseball, motherhood and apple pie — who shed their
idealism slowly, reluctantly, but then completely ... and only after coming to the
conclusion that People In Authority have lied to them, and to everybody, for
too long.
Stone opens his film in a plush
Hong Kong hotel in the spring of 2013, as Snowden takes his first meeting with
documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) and Guardian journalist Glenn
Greenwald (Zachary Quinto); they’re soon joined by the Guardian’s defense and
intelligence correspondent, Ewan MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson). They’ve assembled
to help Snowden “finesse” the disclosure of his stolen classified documents, in
a very public manner that will prevent the U.S. government from spinning the
revelations into something insignificant.
And, not incidentally, to
minimize the chances that Snowden might get kidnapped and/or killed.
(Poitras actually preceded this film
by two years; her 2014 documentary on Snowden, Citizenfour, won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature,
along with a slew of other national and international honors.)
