Movie Review: Snowden

On June 4th 2013, Edward Snowden went from civilian to one of the world's most controversial  figures. From a hotel room in Hong Kong, the former NSA (National Security Agency) contractor released a video (and classified government documents to validate his claims) disclosing the details of the government's surveillance programs and exposing just how deep the United States government goes to violate the privacy of its citizens in the name of counter-terrorism. Just over three years later, iconic pot-stirring filmmaker Oliver Stone (Platoon, Wall Street) has brought Snowden's story to the big screen and while it doesn't make for consistently riveting cinema, Snowden is still one of the most necessary and culturally-relevant biopics I've ever seen.  

Snowden is not your average "greatest hits" biopic. Over the course of the film, you get a deep look into the career and personal life of Edward Snowden and the events that led to him risking his own life to inform the public of the United States government's invasive surveillance program. Stone's neutral approach of simply presenting the facts and letting the audience judge whether or not the subject was in the right is absolutely perfect for a polarizing figure like Edward Snowden. It was honestly kind of refreshing to watch a political-based film that was focused on exploring the human beings that drive its story instead of ramming a biased agenda down the audience's throat. Snowden may not be on the level of JFK or Born on the Fourth of July, but it was great to see Stone return to his meticulously-researched, fact-based storytelling roots.

While the excellent writing and neutral angle lay down a nice foundation, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's terrific performance as Snowden is ultimately what makes Stone's quest to display the man behind the headlines successful. Much has been made out of the fact that Gordon-Levitt and Snowden don't really look alike, which is a sentiment that I agree with. However, physical resemblance is completely irrelevant when you possess Gordon-Levitt's ability to effortlessly bring his character's heart and soul to the forefront of the story. Gordon-Levitt manages to humanize this provocative figure by displaying the immense physical and emotional toll working for the government had on Snowden and the people around him (particularly his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, who is portrayed in the film by the always excellent Shailene Woodley). Underneath all of the ethical debate and insight on how the United States government assesses various national security issues, Snowden is a dense character study and without Gordon-Levitt's layered performance, Stone's noble efforts would've likely amounted to nothing more than a failed experiment in bullshit-free political filmmaking.   

For as well-constructed and acted as it is, Snowden often feels like more of an information dump than a legitimate feature film. As fascinating of a figure as Edward Snowden is on the whole, there are several parts of his life (primarily his early years with the State Department and the beginning of his stint with the NSA) that aren't that interesting and seem to simply be in the movie so Stone can hit on every single job he had in the government before he fled the country. The best biopics are able to blend entertainment with information and Snowden fails to do that for several prolonged stretches of the film.

Snowden doesn't always work as a piece of art, but it's still a vitally important and timely film. Media outlets on both sides of the aisle have portrayed Edward Snowden in an irresponsible, reckless fashion and this film, along with the 2014 documentary Citizenfour, does an excellent job of helping the masses understand who he truly was and what caused him to expose the NSA's tactics to the masses. I urge every American citizen to see the film, absorb what it has to say and then reach a conclusion on whether or not Snowden is a hero or a traitor.    

4/5 Stars