A total bomb of a movie that had a pitiful 2 million dollar opening weekend (the worst of the year for a wide release). I’m not sure why people were so disinterested in seeing the story of Julian Assange and Wikileaks, and I guess this means people really aren’t interested in whistle blowing or the NSA spying on them. [Tough break, Snowden…I know he’s not related to this, but it does seem like people weren’t too bothered by his revelations about the NSA.]
What Works: Even though I already knew the story going in, there is something compelling about the story of Wikileaks and their down-with-the-oppressors manifesto. Watching Assange bring down a corrupt mega-bank or expose Kenyan police moonlighting as death squad leaders is thrilling in the truest sense. We’re not just watching underdogs take on people that desperately need it, we’re watching underdogs that actually exist.
What Doesn’t Work: The exciting documentary “We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks” told this same material in a much more gripping, clear, and honest fashion. It’s an excellent documentary and this is only a so-so movie. For one thing, I hated all the extra embellishments (like a flaming dream office to symbolize a rift in Assange’s partnership or a dream office with hundreds of Assange’s to symbolize how Wikileaks is really just him) that felt like they were trying way too hard to spell out “why we should care.” I also think the movie makes a huge tactical mistake by making this, essentially, Daniel’s story and not Julian’s. They focus on Julian’s chief underling (I wouldn’t call him a true partner) to the extent of pushing the much more interesting Assange into the background of his own story. Daniel isn’t really important to the story of Wikileaks or a very fascinating character, Assange is both, and the movie should have stuck with him for the duration.
What I Would Have Done Differently: Watched “We Steal Secrets” a second time to see this story told right.
Except that “We Steal Secrets” was not accurate. It’s primary message was don’t piss off the director who’s making a documentary about you.
I think it’s probably more accurate than The Fifth Estate which is clearly slanted in the direction of Daniel. In my review of “We Steal Secrets” I mention that the director probably spends too much time talking about the clearly-bogus “rape” charges filed against Julian, but I think it paints a clearer picture of the history of Wikileaks.