Eerie ‘Snowden’ leaves you wanting more
Oliver Stone might have made one of the year’s scariest movies.
Whether it’s one of the year’s most accurate movies is another question entirely.
It’s not that Stone was trying to make a horror flick, but his “Snowden” will make you wonder who’s watching you and what they know about you, not to mention what you or anyone can do about it. And that is likely a good thing.
Stone tells the story of the ex-CIA and NSA computer wonderboy Edward Snowden (played by the fantastically subtle Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who stole evidence of stunning government surveillance programs, went into hiding in 2013 in Hong Kong, then turned over what he knew to the media, causing worldwide shock waves.
Is he a hero or a villain? Stone is hardly evenhanded in addressing this — it is Oliver Stone, after all — but he doesn’t get overly hyperbolic, building his case steadily as Snowden transitions from unquestioning patriotic Marine to one of history’s most important whistleblowers and, in Stone’s view, a hero.
Stone does a good job of humanizing Snowden, showing how his absolute dedication to his job and the secrecy and lies that go with it affect his relationship with his girlfriend Lindsay Mills (a surprisingly convincing Shailene Woodley).
In all, it’s a solid effort, and Stone’s most impressive accomplishment here might be finding ways to keep the story visually engaging even though it revolves around electronic government files (reports that the movie is boring couldn’t be further from the truth). And if half of what he portrays as the inner workings of America’s intelligence apparatus is real, then this is one important movie.
But that’s the big question: How much of it is true?
Snowden himself has said the film is as close to the real deal as possible, though he obviously is not an objective source. Stone loves history – especially when he can write or rewrite it. The value of such Stone films as “JFK,” “Nixon” and “W” comes more from the stories they tell and the issues they raise than any sense of historical accuracy. Most of his historical films leave you wanting to know more, and “Snowden” does the same..
Gordon-Levitt convincingly plays Snowden as a computer genius from a military family who wants to serve his country in the post 9/11 world. He washes out as a Marine, but his considerable intellect lands him a job as a CIA analyst. His prowess takes him to the NSA, where he discovers how easily just about anyone on the planet can be spied on within a moment’s notice.
This starts a sequence of back-and-forth scenes, as Snowden confronts his conscience and his liberal girlfriend Mills. The government wants him to take on more responsibility, which appeals to his ambition. But a little voice in the back of his head is telling him to be cautious, especially when he discovers that his work is being used for reasons other than he intended.
Things come to a head when Snowden discovers how many people, domestically and abroad, are having their personal information collected by the government, despite official denials. (President Obama, whom Snowden hoped would tame the spying programs, doesn’t come off very well in the movie). Ultimately, Snowden’s disgust leads him to steal information and hand it over to journalists from the British publication The Guardian (including columnist Glenn Greenwald, played intensely by Zachary Quinto). As the paper decides whether to publish the information, Snowden and a handful of journalists in a Hong Kong hotel room can feel the CIA bearing down on them. At film’s end, he’s being given safe haven in Russia (where he remains today).
More than a few peo- ple will take issue with Stone’s assertion that what Snowden did was heroic and necessary. And the film’s ending serves up an almost gratuitous nod to Snowden that gives him a public platform and almost wanders into documentary territory.
Still, “Snowden” is a pretty good movie about a great real-life story. Stone deserves kudos for making it, even if, again, he leaves you determined to find out more for yourself.