"Every Breath You Take...I'll Be Watching You!"

Rating: 9/10 (15 November 2017)

"Snowden" is Director Oliver Stone utilizing a Restrained, Laid Back, Contemplative Template, that is Against-Type. Known for His Hyperbolic, In Your Face, Frenetic Visuals and Extreme Editing Techniques, Stone chooses a more Cerebral Approach to the Whistle-Blower and His Outing of the NSA Meta-Data-Surveillance.
Edward Snowden Uncoveres the beginning of a "Dragnet on the whole world."
The Film is Anchored by Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Smooth and In-Skin Performance while Surrounded by Responsibilities that are so Severe His Epilepsy Emerges as He is on a Trajectory that can't be Stopped.
The Enormity of the Consequences of both Edward Snowden and the Governmental Agencies "Spying" on "Everyone" is what is at Stake in this "Real-Life" Story that Modernity has Yet to get a Handle.
Snowden's Story is Now Well Known and the Director goes Deep in the Psyche of "Snowden" and His Personal Life as it Relates to the Stresses and Consequences of His Job as a Government Contractor, CIA and NSA Analyst.
The Movie can be real Creepy at times, especially when He is with His Mentor Corbin (Rhys Ifans). It is a Suspenseful Film despite the Foregone Knowledge of Events.
Oliver Stone, although He is in Unobtrusive Mode, makes much use of Camera Angles and Techniques that are Subtle but Impressive throughout the Film.
It's Visceral Effect is Nowhere Near the Director's other well known Films and probably would have been Ill Advised Anyway. As it Stands it is a Compelling, Cohesive (despite the tech stuff) and Completely Satisfying, considering the Scope of the Subject and the United States Government/Citizens Implications of the Still Ongoing and Very Real Daily Headlines.