From Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July to Nixon and the more recent Mi Amigo Hugo, Oliver Stone has made a career of directing captivating films on controversial issues. Now, twenty-five years after he gave the world JFK’s “magic bullet,” Stone delivers Snowden, a solid film on another divisive subject.
Snowden tells the story of Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the NSA contractor who, in 2013, leaked thousands of classified documents to the media uncovering the immense scope of U.S. government surveillance programs. The film surveys the ten years leading up to the leak, flashing back and forth from a 2013 scene in a Hong Kong hotel room where the classified data exchange with reporters takes place.
Stone weaves a story that artfully depicts a journey of personal change. The Edward Snowden portrayed early in the film likely would not have chosen to reveal government secrets. A catalyst of Snowden’s transformation is girlfriend Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley). In an early scene that foreshadows the inner struggle Snowden will undergo, Mills and Snowden are walking in downtown Washington, DC, when they stumble upon an anti-war protest during the Bush administration. Snowden and Mills debate the merits of protest – Mills happily signs a petition while Snowden criticizes the protesters for being unpatriotic. Mills asserts the protesters are patriotic for demanding the government to change, a statement that has an enduring effect on Snowden.
These are the scenes that make Snowden shine. Dialogue scenes exhibit personalities well, and Snowden abounds in both small and lengthy conversations that slowly reveal Snowden’s ideological complexion. Oliver Stone methodically adds small moments that magnify Snowden’s endearing temperament and create an emotional connection with the viewer: such as an environmentally conscious Edward Snowden picking up his discarded shotgun shells while hunting quail or Snowden attempting to protect a Saudi banker whom the CIA exploits in an clandestine operation. Snowden succeeds marvelously in creating “social empathy,” a hallmark trait of biopics, inviting the viewer to empathetically experience the difficult circumstances that led Edward Snowden to make his fateful decision.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is splendid as he shows the quiet nature of Snowden and skillfully exhibits his slow-building paranoia. Snowden’s character can feel flat at first, but this is the finesse of Gordon-Levitt as he captures Snowden’s subtle timidity. Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, and a pleasant Nicolas Cage deliver spirited supporting performances. The real supporting star, however, is Woodley, who is inspiring as the influential and morally conscious girlfriend. The plot of the movie has smooth transitions, a difficult task for a film that leaps from year to year.
Snowden will certainly be accused of being a film told from a tendentious point of view, favoring Snowden’s decisions and casting him as a hero. Yet the film touches on a question that still divides much of our culture today – is Snowden a patriot or a traitor? This question is important, but perhaps there is a better question – is it possible to understand why Snowden did what he did?
Herein lies the beauty of storytelling: when an individual’s story is heard, like Snowden’s in this film, it becomes increasingly difficult to commit violence against that person, whether by attaching a defamatory label such as traitor or by calling for his execution (as a presidential candidate did). Snowden humanizes a man who has been demonized by both major political parties and much of our society. As one’s view shifts from demonizing to humanizing, individuals are valued as ennobled human beings instead of given subhuman labels. This is the liberating work of the Gospel, that reconciliation might commence as stories are heard, pejorative categories are erased, and the dignity of a human is valued more than the worth of a nation.
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