Adam Driver’s THE REPORT is a Gripping Political Thriller - Sundance Review
I’m a big fan of investigative political thrillers. Film’s like All The Presidents Men, The Post, Snowden, The Insider, and more. I just enjoy the informative and gripping suspense of it all.
The Report tells the story of how the CIA’s brutal use of illegal torture on people after the 9/11 attacks were uncovered. While I was familiar with everything that we saw in the news regarding the big scandals, this film introduces us to the people involved with the investigation and what they had to go through to get the truth into the light because the CIA obviously didn’t want any of this information released.
It’s a fascinating behind the scenes dramatized look at how everything went down and the frustration that the investigators had to endure as the truth behind the conspiracy unfolded. It was certainly frustrating for me to watch because we all know the government is hiding so many other things from the public. I’m sure there are lots of investigations like this that have and are happening that have been and will be locked away in hopes word never gets out.
Adam Driver plays the lead investigator and Senate staffer Daniel Jones in the film and he is brought into it by Senator Dianne Feinstein, who is played by Annette Bening. She is leading the charge on the whole thing. Both of them give fantastic performances. This is the kind of movie that will be showered with award nominations.
The film utilized more than a decades worth of real information to give us the best possible account of what happened possible. The initial report was over 7,000 pages long and it ended up being condensed into a 525-page report. Here’s the official description:
Senate staffer Daniel Jones is assigned the daunting task of leading an investigation into the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. After analyzing extensive evidence, he learns about the “enhanced interrogation techniques”—proven to be brutal, immoral, and ineffective—that the CIA adopted after 9/11. When Jones and the Senate Intelligence Committee attempt to release the results from his investigation, however, the CIA and White House go to great lengths to prevent the truth from getting out.
The movie was directed by Scott Z. Burns and the cast also includes Jon Hamm, Micheal C. Hall, Corey Stoll, and Tim Blake Nelson.
If you enjoy good gripping investigative political thrillers like the films I mentioned above, then The Report might end up being something you’ll want to check out.
