'Secrecy is security and Security is Victory.'

Rating: 10/10 (31 December 2016)

Now in December 2016 with the schism between the US and Russia altering because of the hacking of the elections and Russia's role in that conundrum – now is the finest hour to view this film about the very real terror of the Internet informational control of the globe. Oliver Stone with Kieran Fitzgerald have adapted Anatoly Kucherena's and Luke Harding's books and very creatively combined fact with drama in presenting a captivating expose of Edward Snowden's leak to the public of NSA's illegal surveillance techniques in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press. Yes, the film focuses on the drama of the leak but it also offers a keen look at Edward Snowden's personality and intelligence and the conflicts he faced is carrying out this impart 'crime' to the world. We are all at risk.
The film opens in Hong Kong, Monday June 3, 2013, as documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo) meets with columnist Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) at a hotel. They are met by Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in the lobby. Snowden brings the two to his room to begin documenting everything that has led up to this moment. In a flashback to 2004, Snowden was enlisted in the Special Forces as a candidate. Although he was persistent, he suffered an injury when he broke his legs after landing on them during a drill. The doctor tells Snowden that his legs were broken for weeks but only now have sustained a more serious injury. He warns Snowden that the bones in his legs will turn to powder if he lands on them again, so Snowden is discharged from the military. In 2006, Snowden began training for a position at the Central Intelligence Agency. He started a class under Corbin O'Brian (Rhys Ifans). One of Snowden's first tests is to solve a problem using a sequence. Snowden finishes first, and O'Brian checks his work to see what mistake he made. Snowden explains that he solved the problem by going out of order in the sequence, to the surprise of not only O'Brian, but the rest of the class as well. Snowden befriends a professor named Hank Forrester (Nicolas Cage), who appears to have had an influence on Snowden far more than O'Brian. Outside of work, Snowden chats online with a girl named Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley). They finally meet up one afternoon and go for a walk around the park. Lindsay takes several photos of Snowden, and they end up having their first kiss. In the present day of June 4, 2013 in Hong Kong, Snowden, Poitras, and Greenwald are joined by Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson), an intelligence reporter from The Guardian. MacAskill reports to editor Janine Gibson (Joely Richardson) in regards to the story that Snowden is telling them. In a flashback to 2007, Snowden is stationed in Geneva, Switzerland to maintain computer network security. Lindsay joins him on his trip. He meets with a CIA agent (Timothy Olyphant) who guides him through his task. The ending everyone knows. The film is quite long and the length adds to the tension and the credibility of the development of the drama. The crucial small roles are exceptionally well acted by Scott Eastwood, Ben Chaplin, Ben Schnetzer, Bhasker Patel and a host of others.
This is a film that should be seen by everyone. The terror of cyberspying is a reality we all need to acknowledge.