SNOWDEN

US, 2016, 134 minutes, Colour.
Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Rhys Ifans, Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, Tom Wilkinson, Nicolas Cage, Timothy Olyphant, Julie Richardson, Ben Schnetzer, Scott Eastwood, Ben Chaplin.
Directed by Oliver Stone.

Within a comparatively short time, Snowden has become a household name, something of a sign of contradiction – and now the subject of a film, not just a film, but one co-written and directed by Oliver Stone. With his films about Vietnam and his experience there, especially Platoon, but more with his portraits of American presidents: the conspiracies in JFK, Anthony Hopkins as Nixon, and the Bushes, father and son in W, he is one of the foremost filmmakers focusing on American politics, at the top.

Perhaps it should be said first that Snowden is one of Stone’s most straightforward films. While there is plenty of scope for conspiracy theories, Edward Snowden has emerged as a fairly straightforward person. He does not carry the personal baggage of Julian Assange, personally or politically – and there have been documentaries about Assange, especially WikiLeaks? by Alex Gibney, as well as with Benedict Cumberbatch as Assange in The Fifth Estate. Snowden has had his documentary, Citizenfour, by Laura Poitras, who is played by Melissa Leo in this film, filming her interviews with Snowden in Hong Kong.

Joseph Gordon Levitt gives a persuasive performance as Snowden, more quietly played or underplayed, nothing bombastic about him.

The film moves around in time, initially showing us Snowden’s taking his material to Hong Kong, the arrangements for the New York Times and the Guardian to interview him with a view to publication, which occurred.

As he explains himself, the film goes back to his life as a rather ordinary man, American conservative in his political views, very loyal, affected by 9/11, doing military training which made too many physical demands on him, working for the CIA, an expert on IT. The film also shows his relationship with Lindsay (Shailene Woodley), a young woman with liberal views, a photographer – and Snowden shows himself very shy about being photographed.

As he becomes more and more involved in his work, showing how sharp and quick he was in his wits and his working with IT, under the mentoring of the serious and intense Corbin (Rhys Ifans), appointed to Switzerland, discovering more and more about the surveillance of American citizens, he gradually begins to be alarmed at the amount of surveillance to which is contributing. He works for other firms but decides to accept an appointment to Hawaii. Again he finds even more extensive surveillance and makes a personal decision, a moral decision, that he should make this material known.

There are some dramatic tension in the sequence where he has to get the information beyond security gates in Hawaii and shrewdly uses a Rubik Cube to distract the guards.

So, unable to return home, he travelled to Russia and, to date, is still in Moscow where he has been joined by Lindsay.

Certainly an interesting drama but also very cautionary tale about privacy, secrecy, surveillance, government information about citizens…

To be continued.

1. Audience knowledge about Edward Snowden, his actions in 2013, his motivations, accusations of being a traitor? This film helping audiences with information and clarity?

2. Stances for and against Edward Snowden – the film enabling stances for possible change?

3. The Hong Kong framework, the flashbacks, from 2005 and the different stages of Snowden’s life and career, his attitudes, patriotism, conservative stances, in action, questions, the influence of Lindsay, his final decisions?

4. The impression of Snowden with Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s? performance, 29, his action and decision, in the room in Hong Kong, Laura, Greenwald and MacAskill?, recounting his history, and their questions? The tension and waiting? The Rubik cube, the code for meeting the journalists, the room, putting the phones in the microwave, Laura and her filming? The nature of the questions and interview? The Guardian, the New York Times, Jeanine in New York, her associates, the hearing, having to make the decision, her making it and the follow-up?

5. The scenes of military training, the intensity, Snowden and his earnestness, his fall, the fragility of his legs, hospital?

6. Corbin, the recruitment to the CIA, the meetings, the interviews, Snowden and his motivation, the task, his achieving it in 38 minutes, Corbin’s surprise, his friendship with Snowden, going out with the rifles, assigning him to different jobs, not going to the Middle East because that was not where the future, long-term, was?

7. The assignment to Geneva, the computer jobs, programming, development, Snowden and his being highly intelligent, clever with IT, the themes of surveillance, the meeting with Gabriel, his expertise, the extent of surveillance, the visual diagrams on screen, contacts, the further contacts and networks? The banker from Pakistan, the party, Lindsay softening him, Snowden and his awkwardness in making contacts? Snowden and his agent friend, the techniques for getting at the banker, surveillance, the banker’s daughter, her relationship, the man two-timing her, getting the confidence of the banker, his drinking, his desperation, the plan to get him on drunk driving and so have power over him? Snowden and his hesitant reaction, going along with the regulations – but his later having the lie detector test about improper use of a program?

8. His decision to leave the CIA, Corbin and his reaction? Going to the National Security Council, his research, developing programs, opportunities?

9. The relationship with Lindsay, the initial contact on the website? Meeting, talking, becoming a couple, her skill in photography, his unwillingness to be photographed, the collage of photos of him? Going to Geneva, the tension, her not having a job, help with the socials, the Pakistani banker? Returning to the US, at home? The computer, the surveillance camera, Snowden’s reactions? Her being a strong liberal?

10. Snowden and his ideas, conservative, the impact of 9/11, trying to be honest, not a drinker, his work during the Bush administration, differing from Lindsay? His ideas? The Obama election, her hopes, his talk about freedom, security? Later disillusionment with Obama and his stance on surveillance – but the end and the later scenes of his enacting legislation against surveillance?

11. Invitation to go to Hawaii, the set up, the vast underground plant? Trevor and Patrick, the roles and work, surveillance, the drones and destruction? Meeting Gabriel again? Snowden, expertise, his political connections in the CIA? Snowden and the tension, with Lindsay, getting her to return to America? His going to the centre, getting the copy of all the information, his hiding it in the Rubik cube, Patrick helping, talking in sign language – and his device of having the guard trying to play with the cube and its not going through security?

12. Hong Kong, the contact with Jeanine, the long days of interviews, getting the okay to publish, the final revelation of his identity, the television crews in their pursuit? His getting out of the hotel disguised as a cameraman?

13. The local agent, helping him to get away, staying with a Hong Kong family and everybody assuming he was in a hotel? The plane, going to Moscow, Lindsay going to Moscow?

14. The final information about him, the replaying of the television show and his being interviewed from Moscow, the compere, the audience in support of him?

15. Audiences emerging from this film – those for him, those against?