Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Billy Wonka (A) on September 16, 2016 at 14:32:12

In Reply to: RE: Snowden posted by fantja on September 16, 2016 at 03:06:04

One of the things Stone emphasizes is that Snowden was a right winger from a right wing family. He was so right wing that he exposed his country's sins against itself. (Snowden was even anti-Obama).

Gordon-Levitt did a great job of playing the soft-spoken, right-minded near genius who became ensnared with conflicting instincts: Do a good job vs. do the right thing. The film developed his rocky relationship with his girl friend (Woodley) due to his demanding job and seemingly constant relocation to different duty stations.

Rhys Ifans plays Snowden's first CIA instructor who takes a real shine to him because of his brilliance as a computer geek. Ifans played his role as a dark Svengali lurking about in the background pushing more important roles and assignments on Snowden. Ifans portrayed a man of dark, even spooky patriotism.

The film has a basic, educational core about the methods used, the politics, and the FISA courts. This was all balanced against Snowden's personal and work relationships from station to station. I found it somewhat compelling overall with Levitt and Ifans giving the standout performances. Kudos to Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, and Zach Quinto for playing the "breaking journalists".

This film does have good pacing and editing. It moves through the story quickly yet gives time for character development for Levitt and Woodley. No character seemed wooden nor unnecessary.

It was a good effort for Stone but his politics always stick out like a sore thumb. This time it's about national security vs. investigative overkill. I promise you there will be millions of Americans putting their cell phones and tablets in their microwaves at night and plenty of black squares of tape on all sorts of cameras from here on out. (One must be vigilant of the vigilant.)

I think it's worth a walk-in but I'm on Snowden's side any ways.


ways.