Review of Snowden (2016) by Pipec — 17 Dec 2016

"Law Does Not Replace Conscience".

Edward Joseph Snowden, name surrounded by disputes, polemics, and two-dimensional opinions. This talented young of Maryland was an important American computer professional, informer, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee, and former contractor for the United States government. Nevertheless, It was not until he exhibited by 'The Guardian' and 'The Washington Post' newspapers thousands of classified NSA documents around the massive monitoring 'PRISM' and 'XKeyscore' programs, which violated privacy rights of each citizen with excuses of "dodging terrorism" that he got sufficient recognition, all this during the mandate of President Barack Obama. This, a controversial story inspired by real events—with political and social touches—was the opportunity that the American director needed to be released from that curse of the new millennium.

From Academy Award-winning Oliver Stone, who is known for projecting important issues in American democratic scene in his films, has returned in a work rather remarkable, nonetheless, it is not capable of preponderating between films as tenacious and subtle such as "Born on the Fourth of July", "JKF" or "Nixon" at all. Oliver Stone is one of the American directors possessing the same number of supporters and detractors on the basis of his intense movies, something similar to the case of Quentin Tarantino, you either love them or hate them. Although recently we have seen him mostly in political documentaries on account of the unexpected and fateful film blunder of new millennium, he comes back with his all strength—they are not the same as before—in a biographical thriller motion picture, which can be dangerous and erroneously compared with 2014 documentary directed by the selfsame reporter who carried out the unmasking Laura Poitras, "Citizenfour". Erroneously because regardless of taking the same main topic (Snowden), they develop a drama with visual and narrative tactics, elements and technologies as different as suggestive.

This man adopted the name of "traitor or hero" due to maneuvers and mechanisms which Edward had to revert for fulfilling his objective. Even if you consider him a traitor, the portrait made by Stone of Snowden is deliberately positive, always justifying his reasons and showing one side of the coin that many people does not accept. This time, the director takes his imposing and Manichean voice in order to show those who do not know thoroughly the motivations and ways of the American fugitive, who revealed—whether good, bad or both—an unavoidable truth, his love, personal and more prominently professional life. Even though the story had potential of being a commercial film a la "Bourne", obviously leaving physical action behind, but what his director did was narrate it in the way that it had to be: cautious, thoughtful and occasionally predictable but attractive, significant and surprising.

Working from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Kieran Fitzgerald ("The Homesman"), based on the interviews of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) and journalist Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto), Joseph Gordon-Levitt ("The Walk") portrays a version in flesh and blood more human, sensitive, and reliable from that impartial and cold face colliding into worldwide newspapers and news in 2013. Transforming his tone of voice, adopting his obsessions and expressions, Gordon-Levitt is chief sunlight in this lugubrious galaxy of information; without his impressive transformation, Stone's journey would have been grimmer and perhaps neither permissible. In addition to the main lead, Shailene Woodley, who did not propose in her first scenes, achieves a balance in a whirl of emotions and situations in refined and consistent way, a total delight.

The narrative subject of the movie is a great skill for keeping to audience watches out, in order to spectators do entire transition process of the character with the character. An anachronism that goes from the interview which gives shape to the story to passages and circumstances which are narrated in voiceover by Snowden using explanatory flashbacks and even if we rule thirty or forty minutes out to the extensive motion picture (two hours), it would have been more propitious, the whole story has an essential point. As for the visual landscape, Stone opts it safe with his interlarded angles and low-angle shots from modern expressionism building the footage, perhaps, he would have been more ambitious, assuming risks in staging.

Some might say that Stone is deifying Snowden with his work, dispensing with dilemma of being a hero or criminal. "Snowden" produces a formidable biography, supported with a well-told story and a dazzling performance by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, nonetheless, Stone goes to fields already inspected and does not generate the shock what should do with such real story.