Snowden (2016) [Movie Review]

Dir: Oliver Stone

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley

Dur: 2 hrs 14 mins

Genre: Biographical thriller

PG: A few intimate scenes.
Rating: 7/10

The film is based on the true story of Edward Snowden and based on The Snowden Files by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus by Anatoly Kucherena. The name may ring a bell, if it doesn’t then allow me to enlighten you. Edward Snowden created a national, no wait!, an international uproar in 2013 when he leaked out top-secret files from America’s National Security Agency (NSA) where he was working. You may wonder “what’s the fuss about this criminal?” I know, I wondered when I didn’t bother to read up further on the matter back in the day. I presumed him to be a criminal who created a national emergency in America for his clandestine revelation and who ran for his life to Russia where he was granted asylum. I remember thinking of him as the cause of the second largest espionage scandal in the last decade after Julian Assange. It was only after I watched this film that I realized who Edward Snowden was and how he shook not just America but the world from a careless slumber.

 

The film tells the riveting tale of Edward Snowden (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) a patriot and genius, who served his country in different capacities before leaking out very sensitive information and eventually ostracizing himself from the very country and people he loved and pledged to serve. The story is thrilling and hardly has a dull moment. Despite its 2 hour plus run time, it doesn’t waver or fall away from its objective – providing an account of the Snowden saga.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant and Shailene brings life and colour to the story. I like that the film chose to spend more time on the normal life of Snowden than on the scandal. The script is incredibly well written and Oliver Stone needs more than a thunderous applause for his masterful direction. The editing is great and so are the soundtracks. I simply cannot understand its failure at the box-office.

The film besides giving the background story of Snowden also paints him as a hero. Probably there is a bias there, but the Snowden of the film demands kudos for his staunch adherence to personal principles and convictions even in the face of excessive red-tapism and power games. His actions have had global consequences and have directly influenced the policies of the government and several other parties, who were involved in the trampling of the privacy of citizens for ulterior motives. Snowden’s cameo also adds a distinctive touch to the film and finishes it off in style.