Behind Closed Doors
Would you dare to challenge the
government? Edward Snowden, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, does just that - not
only in this movie, but in real life. The controversy of government leaks leads
to Edward Snowden fleeing the United States in fear of facing the judicial
backlash from the National Security Agency. This movie sparks a fire in minds
all over the world into what the government is really doing behind closed
doors. Being that this is a real life event that is still ongoing, the movie
brings to light what the government sees as being ethical and how far they will
go to protect their secrets.
The film begins in an Army training camp,
where Edward Snowden is noticeably falling in ranks among the rest of his
comrades. Falling down one morning, he breaks both legs and his Army doctor
stresses that he will not be returning to training camp. By telling Snowden
that there are other ways to serve his country, he takes that to heart and
applies to the CIA. After a long interview and interrogation process, he is
hired and becomes a NSA contractor. During his time in the NSA, he meets
Lindsey Mills, played by Shailene Woodley, whom he has been online chatting
with. She immediately knows that he works for the CIA and understands his line
of work, which makes them perfectly compatible. Edward starts work low in the
agency, but quickly impresses the higher ups and gains privileges. His work
takes him to Geneva, Japan, Washington D.C., and eventually Oahu. In these
countries, Edward is building software and technology that is not even
imaginable to most and sees some disturbing things along the way. Years of
seeing so much corruption leads him to question his morals and mental stability
after seeing what the rest of the world is not, and so he decides it is time
for a change. He decides to tell the world the truth about the CIA and his
specialty: the NSA. His work forever changes how the world will view and trust
the government.
The film is based on real life events with
added dramatization to keep viewers intrigued throughout, which places it in
the political thriller and biographical genres perfectly. It can be described
as “[a] genuine thriller is a film that [relentlessly] pursues a single-minded
goal - to provide thrills and keep the audience cliff-hanging at the 'edge of
their seats' as the plot builds towards a climax” (Dirks). In the movie, the
“single-minded goal” for Edward Snowden is to release the secrets of the NSA,
but this does not happen quickly. The gathering and releasing of information
takes years to complete, which is also a key component of the movie that makes
it fit into the biographical genre. This can be defined as so, “[t]hese films
depict and dramatize the life of an important historical personage (or group)
from the past or present era” (Dirks). Edward Snowden is an important figure in
politics and forever will be because of his work inside the NSA. Therefore, the
plot sheds light on his thought processes throughout that time. The movie is
also biographical because it follows Edward’s personal love life with Lindsey
Mills. It expands on the highs and lows of their relationship over the years as
she travels with him to multiple countries and states. Focusing on the personal
aspects of his life keeps viewers intrigued and adds uniqueness to the movie.
Snowden is unique because the House Intelligence
Committee and NSA still want Edward to face trial in the United States in 2016
or whenever he returns and the leaks were released back in 2013 (Savage). It is
not surprising that government agencies are still outraged at Edward Snowden three
years after the leaks because he did something that no one would ever think
possible and got away with it. In doing so, the government cannot touch him as
long as he remains outside of the states. The world, and especially the United
States, erupted with anger and mistrust after Edward shared government secrets.
As recently as September 2016, President Obama is being contacted by letter
from the House Intelligence Committee asking that he not pardon Snowden as his
work is a serious offense to the government (Savage). The United States
government as a whole protects its secrets with great care; by letting
something, such as leaks, slip right under their noses is a huge breach in
security. In Savage’s article, in The New
York Times, he states, “[t]he committee also said it had completed a
36-page report… looking into the leaks and their effects” (Savage). The report
is probably an effort to find out where and how the CIA let this happen. Of
course, that is only one biased opinion over the whole matter and there are
said to be plenty more.
In another film review, Edward Snowden is
praised for his work to open up the eyes of the world to the government’s acts
and also the film itself. Tallerico, the
film critic, expressed in his review, “There are
numerous accomplished scenes… It’s in his body language, which captures a man
truly conflicted about what to do with the information he’s discovered. And
that’s an interesting approach to the Snowden story in and of itself”
(Tallerico). The directors and producers did a marvelous job with actors,
filming, getting multiple points through to the viewers and posing questions,
such as who you can trust and the government’s real intentions. They continued,
“[t]his story is truly complex, especially in the way Stone and Fitzgerald have
chosen to tackle it. They offer a little bit of “the early days of Edward,” but
it’s not long before Snowden is, shall we say, seeing how the sausage gets made”
(Tallerico). Getting to the point in the movie then expanding upon it is really
what made Snowden a solid film.
The movie has multiple
strong points as Edward Snowden’s story and the leaks occurred only three short
years ago. This fact alone can keep viewers intrigued because for those who did
not know that this political event occurred, the younger generation for
example, it can be an educational message towards them. It also works in a
movie format because it reaches those younger viewers, who may go to the movies
more often than reading political articles or watching the news. Another
strength is that Edward Snowden’s life is relatable to viewers in some ways.
Everyone has experienced a time when they saw or heard something that they knew
was not right. Everyone has done something that has made them question their
morals at least once. It may have even affected them mentally like it did with
Edward and his medical diagnosis of epilepsy. Being under a lot of stress and
close watch is something that anyone could understand. With that being said, the
movie has quite a few weaknesses along with various relatable points and
multiple strengths.
A big weakness in Snowden is that it did not give much detail in the beginning of the
movie as to what Edward Snowden’s job description or responsibilities are. It
was difficult to understand his assignments and role within the agency until about
an hour into the movie. Viewers are left to figure it out on their own or wait
until the movie goes more in depth with his job and why he is doing what he is.
Another weakness is that the movie is extremely controversial and biased toward
Edward Snowden’s favor. Snowden’s
writers and directors obviously favors what he is doing within the NSA and how
going about it. The movie stands up for him and protects him in the way of how
the directors and producers choose to portray him as the hero who will educate
the world. Standing up for a man who leaked government secrets is
controversial. It can be perceived as going against the government in the way
of shedding more light on their unethical actions and bringing the story back
into the spotlight. It is known worldwide that the government has secrets and
they always will unless more people have the knowledge and courage to do what
Edward did. Not many people can or would challenge the government like him.
The theme of the movie is that it
challenges the government, their intentions, and the people’s trust in them.
Every time we learn something new about the government or what they are doing
we find ourselves questioning them more and more. That is what makes this movie
so great. It constantly has its viewers thinking about what they really believe
and allows them to make up their minds about Edward Snowden and the leaks, even
though it is extremely biased. It strikes an emotion in Americans, whether it
is anger towards the government or pride that someone spoke up. Snowden is a movie that everyone wants
to tell their friends about right after they watch it.
Works Cited
Dirks, Tim. “Biopics” and “Thrillers – Suspense”. Ed. Tim Dirks. Film Site. AMC, 2011. Web. 26 September 2016.
Savage, Charlie. “House Intelligence Committee Urges No Pardon for Edward Snowden.” The New York Times, 15 September 2016. Web. 19 September 2016.
Tallerico, Brian. “Snowden.” Rev. of Snowden, dir. Oliver Stone. Roger Ebert.com. Ebert Digital, 16 September 2016. Web. 25 September 2016.
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