Snowden: A Disturbing Tale Told Well

by Pa Rock
Patriot Film Fan

Snowden, a 2016 film by Oliver Stone, is streaming on Netflix where it is currently ranked in the top ten viewer favorites.  It is, of course, the story of former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden, a top level  employee (contractor) of both the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency.   During Snowden's years doing computer analysis for these spy agencies (2003-2013), he became more and more concerned with our government's widespread collection of data on its own citizens.  In 2013 he surreptitiously took some NASA agency records on these domestic spying operations out of his office - and then called in sick.  He turned up a day or so later in Hong Kong where he shared those stolen records with several respected international journalists.

Within a couple of weeks Edward Snowden was a fugitive in hiding.  He was enroute to a new home in Ecuador or some other Latin American destination when the US State Department revoked his passport.   Snowden happened to be at the airport in Moscow when the notice of the passport revocation reached Russian authorities.  He was detained at that airport for over a month and finally given a limited residency status in Russia.  His residency was renewed on a year-by-year basis until last month (October of 2020) when he and his wife, Lindsay Mills,  were granted permanent Russian residency.  They have also retained their US citizenship, though if he were to return home at this time he would likely be arrested on espionage charges.

Edward Snowden is an intelligent and articulate public speaker who has continued to cultivate a following among international peace-focused organizations.  Some in the United States regard him as a traitor and vow that he will never be allowed to return to the land of his birth, the country where he and Lindsay's families still live.  Others see him as a patriot, a person who tried to stop government overreach from within the system but was rebuffed - and then had to take extraordinary measures to correct a major abuse of power.  Some declare that he was a spy who caused long-term harm to his nation, and others see him as a whistleblower who did what he had to do to right an egregious wrong.

Two months ago (September of 2020) Snowden was vindicated to a degree when a US federal judge ruled that the massive collection of data on US citizens that he exposed was, in fact, illegal.

The Oliver Stone film appears to be a faithful retelling on Edward Snowden's story.  Its central focus is Snowden meeting with the journalists in a hotel room in Hong Kong, and from there it flashes back to various periods in Snowden's life as the story unfolds. The narrative is tight and well organized, and it lays out the story in a way that is both gripping and easy to follow.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a superb job of portraying Edward Snowden, and Shailene Woodley is compelling as Lindsay Mills.    Several other Hollywood notables also make appearances, people like Nicholas Cage, Zachary Quinto, Joely Richardson, Timothy Olyphant, and Scott Eastwood.  In addition to telling the whistleblower's tale, the film also depicts the story of Edward and Lindsay from their first meeting through their evolving relationship and the pressures that Edward's jobs bring to bear on their life as a couple.

Real life often makes for very good drama, and with Oliver Stone directing the enterprise, it's nearly always a sure thing.  This is a movie that will make you think about your personal privacy and perhaps make some changes in how you routinely live your life.  (For instance, you may decide to  cover the camera lens on your laptop after you see the capabilities that your government has.  Others may have those capabilities as well - or they soon will have!). 

I heartily recommend Snowden for your at-home viewing pleasure.   It's a disturbing tale told well.