Written by: Kieran Fitzgerald & Oliver Stone
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson
Rating: [3.5/5]
Doing what one believes is right versus what lies within the rules of their position will certainly place any individual in a place of conflict. One where they must make a decision whether they will hold true to their values or forsake them to keep the job, which only gets amplified when put in the position of the titular character in Snowden. Competently crafted and engaging as a whole, this feature tells the story of one of the more recognizable intelligence employees in recent memory to explain why he did what he did.
Unable to continue a career in the special forces because of injury, Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), still seeks to serve his country. This leads him to work with the CIA, and the NSA in intelligence roles where he begins to discover areas where the government oversteps in infringing the rights of Americans.
Certainly one of the more recognizable surnames in recent memory, Snowden operates as a way to tell Edward Snowden’s side of the events that occurred following much of the media coverage and spin existent out in the world around him. This comes coupled with the documentary CitizenFour, which pretty much lays out everything already said in this feature, but sometimes we need a bit of dramatization and an actor to come in and portray the individual in question. With dramatization comes the reality of needing to heighten the emotion of certain moments even if they played out in a much calmer way in reality. It thus leads us to this film chronicling the conflict Snowden deals with internally as he makes a decision he knows will forever impact his life in a negative way but will also shed light on the work the government does without the consent of the taxpayers.
Of those shadow operations, infringing on the privacy of Americans forged with the fourth amendment does allow for an intriguing argument made throughout the film. Snowden confronts the reasoning where he hears Americans truly do not seek to have privacy, instead, they would prefer safety and have the work of the government lie in protecting them. One of those areas of blissful ignorance, very much heightened by the events occurring after 9/11. If you ask some Americans they may feel more apt to give up some of their privacy in order for government surveillance to protect them from threats. However, doing this without consent ultimately becomes the issue here for Snowden, which makes him believe he must release it all to the public.
Getting it out of these covert locations into the hands of the public certainly proves quite the challenge and ultimately makes for much of the tension derived from the feature. He needs to smile his way into his regular place of work and try to smuggle out some of the most sensitive and confidential information on any American database. With all of the security checks and safeguards in place, doing this serves as quite the undertaking but one Snowden feels worth doing for the sake of his moralistic mission.
Providing a committed performance we have Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who served as the best casting choice for Snowden not only in committing to doing the same voice but also because of the skill he brings to this role. He captures both the look and performance necessary for sitting right in the middle of these stressful circumstances for the characters. Gordon-Levitt displays the constant stress on this man’s face and internally when trying to navigate the push and pull of what he must do for the rights of his fellow Americans making each scene even more compelling.
While not really doing the best job at pushing back against the titular character and bordering on hero-worship at times, Snowden creates quite a compelling story in dramatization. It gets into the reasoning of this individual in his decision-making while also weighing the impact on the personal side in the way secretive government work can take a toll on the personal relationships one has. Anchored by a strong lead performance, Oliver Stone does not deliver his best work here but he remains in fine form in crafting yet another political biopic and getting right at the root of what makes the individual compelling but also vital to our understanding of the relationship between the people and the government.
Films with Josh 
