Movie Review—Snowden

Snowden

by Peter J. O'Connell                                                                                                                                                       

Snowden. Released: Sept. 2016. Runtime: 134 mins. MPAA Rating: R for language and some sexuality/nudity.

Edward Snowden is one of the most enigmatic figures in recent American history. His removal of National Security Agency (NSA) classified files and release of them to journalists in 2013 revealed the sweeping extent of illegal surveillance by that agency (and other agencies and organizations)--but also may have created some serious security breaches. So, was Snowden a patriotic and courageous whistleblower or a traitor with links to China and Russia? Or something different from either of these possibilities?

Snowden, directed by and with a screenplay co-written by Oliver Stone, leans strongly to the first description—even adding something to it as the movie goes on. We first encounter Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in a hotel room in Hong Kong, where he is discussing his intention to release the files to the British publication the Guardian. Listening to him are documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) and reporter Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto). Later these two will be joined by another figure from the Guardian, Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson). As Snowden relates his background and what he plans to release, his listeners attempt to evaluate him and decide whether to disseminate his information.

The movie cuts back and forth between Snowden's past and the present in that Hong Kong hotel room. Snowden, from a family of military and political figures, joined the Army as a Special Forces candidate in 2004 but was let go because of leg injuries received during basic training. Snowden then joined the CIA and, although not a college graduate, soon received promotions because of his computer wizardry. At the CIA the movie shows him as mentored by a sepulchral-voiced spymaster type (Rhys Ifans) and a high-tech fellow (Nicolas Cage), who presides over a collection of historic and/or antiquated cryptographic and computer equipment.

After some undercover work in Geneva, Snowden resigns from the CIA in 2009 and begins work as a contractor for corporations that manage computer systems for government agencies, including the NSA. Along the way, Snowden acquires a girlfriend, Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley). The loving couple is seen in picture-postcardy scenes and also spats sparked by Lindsay's complaints about Edward's secrecy regarding his work.

Along the way, Snowden also becomes concerned about the extent and unconstitutional nature of the surveillance that he observes taking place and feels guilty about his part in it. The movie depicts him as particularly disturbed by the fact that the NSA in the course of its work can access views of women nude, including Lindsay. Here Stone , as mentioned earlier, adds another adjective to his portrayal of Snowden as courageous and patriotic—saintly.

Eventually, Saint Snowden, in a suspensful sequence, makes his way from his NSA post in Hawaii to Hong Kong with the classified files. The Guardian does decide to release his revelations, and the world is shocked!, shocked! Seeking to go from Kong Kong to asylum in Ecuador, Snowden is only able to get as far as Russia, where he settles in with Lindsay.

A principle of reviewing is that one reviews the work at hand rather than one that one might prefer to have been created. The film at hand contains a solid performance by Gordon-Levitt, with Leo, Quinto and Wilkinson providing equally solid support. If Lindsay Mills is actually a rather shallow person, Shailene Woodley has portrayed her well; if not, well . . . . The Rhys Ifans composite character is of a type often found in “spy thrillers”--one given to darkly oracular sayings about “what is needed for victory.” Oliver Stone's direction embodies commitment to his hagiographic thesis but lacks the “over-the-top” qualities that made the Stone works of the 1980s and 1990s so compelling.

Despite the principle referred to above, let's conclude with at least a mention of a more compelling film about Edward Snowden that might have been made: one that would take a look at Snowden's childhood and family relationships for clues to his later actions; one that would depict the good resulting from the information developed from NSA spying as well as pointing out its illegality; one that would point out the potential harm done by Snowden's revelations, not only for American security but also for that of the entire civilized world; one that would make audiences feel, really feel, the difficult dilemmas involved in striking the necessary balance between security and liberty.

“Footnotes” to the film: (1) Laura Poitras' documentary about Snowden, Citizenfour, came out in 2014. (2) Edward Snowden himself appears in some of the concluding scenes of Snowden.