Snowden (2016)

Genre: Biographical / Thriller

Directed by: Oliver Stone

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shalene Woodley, Melissa Leo

Time: 134 minutes

This film tells the story of how former CIA employee and US government contractor, Edward Snowden, leaked classified information from the NSA to reveal multiple global surveillance programs. In the film, we go back and forth between a clandestine meeting Snowden set with a documentary filmmaker and a journalist from The Guardian in a Hong Kong hotel room to discuss the leakage of classified information and the path that led the former CIA employee to that point.

One of this film’s greatest strengths is the leading performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He manages to make you forget the actor and believe in the character. It is clear to see, once we see the real Edward Snowden towards the end of the film, that the actor did a solid job. On a side note, seeing the actual Snowden was a nice touch. Most of the supporting cast was also good, though I found Nicolas Cage and Timothy Olyphant to be weird choices for their respective roles.

I had my doubts about this film, since Oliver Stone was involved. When it comes to true events, I know he doesn’t like to let facts get in the way of a good story. That being said, I think that, considering the sensitive subject matter he had to deal with here and its freshness in all of our minds, he decided to play it safe.

Rating: ««««