Snowden (Oliver Stone, 2016)

On the face of it, the story of the whistleblower Edward Snowden, still stuck in Russia with the U.S. having withdrawn his passport, should provide rich pickings for anyone wanting to stick the boot into the autocratic superpower and its machinations. It's a shame, then, that the work of the self-styled liberal conscience of America, Oliver Stone, has declined steadily in terms of focus and edge since his '80s and '90s heyday. And while the facts here speak for themselves and you're left in little doubt of the integrity of Snowden - unless you go along with the U.S. government's campaign of punishment against him for stepping out of line, by them invoking the traitor card - the impact of what's really being addressed is somewhat sucked out by the director's sentimentalisation of the character and his situation. Snowden comes across, and we have no reason to question this, as a serious patriot who couldn't stomach his paymasters violating the constitution by spying on their own populace and is consequently still paying the price for leaking this. But, despite Joseph Gordon-Levitt's nuanced and empathetic portrayal of the man, as drama it can't quite float on our sympathies alone.

5/10