“Snowden” Does not Disappoint

Friday, Sept. 16, saw the release of the new movie, “Snowden.” The movie, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, was a reenacted documentary about the life of former intelligence worker Edward Snowden.

Snowden, for those unaware, is a 29 year old currently taking refuge in Russia. After working many years in both the NSA and the CIA, he learned that the government has access to basically every single American’s cell phone texts, emails, social media posts, computer webcams, and more even after multiple claims that this kind of behavior was not occurring. Irked by this fact, Snowden fled to Hong Kong where, with a team of people, he released videos detailing what he knew, and arranged for these stories to be aired by journalists. Thus, Americans now knew the truth of how widespread government spying really is.

In response, as expected, Snowden was labeled a government traitor/criminal for the release of confidential information by the United States. He fled to Moscow where he still currently resides, after the Russian government gave him permission to take refuge there for three years. Views on Snowden are severely conflicted: many people believe he did the right thing by revealing the government’s deviousness, while many others believe he is a criminal that endangered the entire country.

The film documented the parts of his life leading up to his momentous reveals. It begins with his entrance into the CIA, depicting how he was the best student in his training class. He began soaring through the ranks, proving his aptitude time after time. At the same time, he formed a love interest with a girl named Lindsey, played by Shailene Woodley. His involvement with her creates one of the major conflicts in the film, as he repeatedly has to choose between her and his work.

The film goes downhill after the realization of how deeply the government is spying on basically everyone dawns on him. He becomes paranoid, avoids cameras at all costs, and goes to the extent of putting band-aids over computer webcams. He even begins having epileptic seizures due to the stress.

Overall, the film was dramatic, informative, and satisfying. The actors accurately portrayed their characters, especially Gordon-Levitt who perfectly captured Snowden’s growing stress throughout the movie. Clean filming, with enhancing use of lighting and locations, made the film easy and inviting to watch.

The only critique for “Snowden” is that it moved slowly. This may be expected from a documentary of sorts, but there were moments in which the actors could have been more dramatic and the producers could have added appropriate additions of suspense through music and different camera angles.

In all, “Snowden” delivered an enjoyable, unbiased viewing experience that was exciting and interesting to watch, especially for those who are interested in the controversy around Edward Snowden. My favorite part was during the credits, when the producers inserted real audio snippets of people commenting on his actions. What stood out from these was when they played the comments of Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders. Out of the three, Sanders was the only one who did not pin Snowden as a criminal.

“Snowden” is playing now in theatres.