Snowden

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Rhys Ifans, Nicolas Cage, Tom Wilkinson, Joely Richardson, Timothy Olyphant, Scott Eastwood, Ben Chaplin
Directed by: Oliver Stone
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2016

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) leaks classified documents about the NSA's illegal activities and must go on the run as he's branded a traitor who has committed treason against the United States.

Review:

Tim: I give Oliver Stone credit for bringing this story to the screen. Edward Snowden is obviously a controversial figure, which makes a film about his life an interesting one. The big question is, "Is Snowden a traitor or a hero?" This movie talks about different sides of the issue, but it felt pretty clear that Stone was treating him more like a hero. I don't have any views to share on this, it was just an interesting note. The movie itself definitely sheds more light on Snowden and the decisions he made. The biggest problem is that his story isn't interesting or eventful enough to span the too-long 2 hour, 14 minute run time. This doesn't feel like a tightly told, highly impactful film. It feels like a movie that becomes a big bloated, drags in places, and ultimately takes too long to get where it's going. Now, Stone is talented enough to deliver a solid movie, but this isn't one without its share of flaws.

The movie is definitely too long, so we get far too many sequences that aren't memorable. Stone delivers some great sequences throughout the film, but he desperately needed to cut others. It felt like he was bound and determined to make an "important" movie and it was okay if he sacrificed some quality and entertainment value to accomplish that. The problem is that the whole movie feels less effective than it could have been. The impact it could make is blunted because of too many unnecessary or only mildly important scenes. This doesn't ruin the movie- those scenes may have been unnecessary, but they do help us understand the character better (slightly- the movie still would have been better without some of them). That translates into Snowden being a good movie but never a great one.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a really good job in the lead role. It's not a strong enough performance to get attention from the big awards, but it's a reminder that he is a talented actor who too often flies under the radar. He really gave a strong performance that mirrored the real-life Snowden. Shailene Woodley's performance was more uneven. There were moments when she was incredibly strong and there were other moments that the role felt too big for her, like it pushed her too far outside of her comfort zone and her acting ability couldn't take her where she needed to go. I think Woodley is going to be a great actress, but she's not there yet and this role was on occasion too much for her. Rhys Ifans gave a very strong supporting performance. I loved seeing Tom Wilkinson and Zachary Quinto here, but neither really has much to do. It was fun to see Nicholas Cage unexpectedly pop up, but he really has very little to do and doesn't make much of an impact on the screen. There's a fairly large supporting cast, but their impact on the film ultimately doesn't reach the levels we'd like. This film is really Gordon-Levitt's.

While I really do appreciate this film, Stone is a director who enjoys courting controversy. I have to believe some of that got in the way here. I can see he and the production so pleased they're able to tell this controversial, contemporary story that they got caught up in what they were doing and took their eye off how they were going about it. Snowden is a good movie- it has a solid cast, tells an interesting story, and has many entertaining moments. However, the film as a whole feels like a B-effort. There's nothing that really makes you sit up. There's commentary on the evils of secretive government projects and using technology for nefarious purposes. There's moments that make you truly frightened for how technology can be used against you. But do you leave this film truly understanding who Snowden was and why he did what he did? I'd say that is less than we'd like. I still don't feel like I truly "get" Edward Snowden and I watched a movie that was well over 2 hours about his life. Stone focuses too much on what he did and not enough on why he did it. The movie doesn't dig deeply enough.

While I wanted to like this movie more, I need to be clear that Stone directs a solid, informational, entertaining movie. This is a good film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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