Matter-of-fact and by the book

Rating: 6/10 (21 September 2016)

SNOWDEN has all of the ingredients for a top-notch, Academy Award worthy motion picture - a "ripped from the headlines" plot, a multi- Academy Award winning Director and Writer (Oliver Stone), a charismatic rising star (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and a truckload of strong supporting actors, many of whom have won Academy Awards themselves - Tom Wilkinson, Melissa Leo, Rhys Ifans, Zachary Quinto, Joely Richardson, Timothy Oliphant, Shailene Woodley and even good ol' Nicholas Cage.
So, why then, was this film so utterly boring?
You have to go back to the standard three legs of the film stool - Direction, Script and Acting (the 4th leg is Cinematography, but that wasn't one of this films flaws).
Let's start with the script by Oliver Stone and Kieran Fitzgerald. It had no range to it. The Edward Snowden character was pretty much the same at the end as he was at the beginning. The highs of the character were just slightly elevated from center and the lows were slightly lowered from center. The dialogue was the opposite of snappy (whatever that might be) and the emotional stakes just didn't exist.
The flaw in script and story could have been redeemed by a strong, charismatic central performance but, unfortunately, Gordon-Levitt's performance was anything but. He portrays Snowden as stoic and logical, never letting anyone see what he is thinking - including the audience. His scenes with Shailene Woodley (as his love interest) showed no spark or chemistry between the two, so when she decides to join him in his journey, I don't buy it. Gordon-Levitt actually, kind of, had chemistry with Rhys Ifans mentor character, but that character is shuffled to the bottom of the pile over and over again only to pop up on occasion to give wise advice. Most of the rest of the supporting cast were wasted in boring, overly intense roles. They looked like the were hired for their abilities to stare intently and seriously at a computer or television screen. Only Nicholas Cage and Timothy Olyphant rise above this weak script to give us something that resembled characters, but they are both on the screen way too briefly.
I lay most of the blame of this to the director and co-screenwriter. Oliver Stone's direction was middle-of-the-road (and I'm being kind), he films this in a palate of soft blues and greys with an occasional "artistic shot" thrown in for no apparent reason which separates us, the audience, from the action, not draw us in. He, clearly, has told all of the actors to "tone it down" and they all do to such an extant that I was wondering if they were awake.
But the biggest problem of this film, for me, was the climactic scene where Snowden decides to abscond with information. We know, from history, that he succeeds, but - unlike the recent SULLY where we knew how it would all play out and were gripping the arms of our chairs nonetheless - there was no tension in this theft and the aftermath. It was matter-of-fact and by the book.
Which is how I would describe the film. Matter of fact and by the book might make good CIA and NSA agents, but it makes for a very dull evening at the movies.
6 (out of 10) stars - the movie is, at least professionally filmed, - and you can take that to the Bank (of Marquis)