Snowden is a divisive figure. Either, you see him as a freedom-fighting American putting his life at risk or he’s a low-down ex-NSA/CIA employee who risked important information for media attention. Oliver Stone’s new biopic, featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Rhys Ifans and Nick Cage is firmly in the former camp.
The film follows the gripping real-life story of Edward Snowden – the whistleblower who released huge swathes of info about his country's programme to hack private information from anywhere in the world. Much like the 2014 documentary CitizenFour by Laura Poitras, the film follows the footsteps of Snowden locked away in a hotel in Hong Kong after meeting with Poitras and Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald to hand over evidence of the programmes. The film also shows us what the documentary couldn’t: dramatisations of Snowden’s relationship with long-term girlfriend Lindsay Mills, as well as his roles within the CIA and NSA.
Whilst the narrative is engaging, the hero-worship of Snowden, problematic portrayal of Mills/Woodley, hammy dialogue and CSI-esque visuals detract from the incredible story. It’s irritating to watch a dynamic character be portrayed in such a one-dimensional way (let us not forget he worked in these organisations for years before coming forward), but what’s even worse is the voyeuristic depiction of his girlfriend. Her character seems to serve no purpose other than the conventional ‘martyr woman’ figure - always willing to move and support her long-suffering partner. What’s more, Woodley is often kitted out in tight-clothing or shown naked (there’s a highly gratuitous sex scene that makes for uncomfortable viewing). The purpose of this ogling is unclear.
The film is just another depiction of a single-minded man, expecting those around him to suffer at the expense of his very important mission. Snowden’s role is uncovering the shocking nature of the NSA’s reach into our personal data (pressing when the UK has just passed the Investigatory Powers Bill) but from the film you’d think he’d saved the world from total disaster. Clips of important CIA executives swooning over his intelligence, constant visual reminders he’s got a hot girlfriend, and an entire scene dedicated to showing how genius he is make this more hero worship than biopic.
The scenes in the Hong Kong hotel room - taken almost directly from Poitras' brilliant documentary – are slightly better than the dramatised elements, but still contain cheesy moments of explanation and musing. Of course, we can’t tell how realistic the film is in depicting the relationship between Snowden and his partner, and perhaps Snowden isn’t as self-righteous and selfish as the film depicts him, but Stone’s interpretation is one-dimensional, hammy and with a heavy dose of misogyny. It’s an engaging film, but the cold lens of a documentary serves it better than the rose-tinted spectacles of this fawning depiction.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
