Reality (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – A former American intelligence specialist was given the longest sentence for the unauthorized release of government information to the media about Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections via an email operation.

My Take – While political thrillers particularly about whistle-blowers have been mostly thrill to watch, director Tina Satter’s debut film, which she co-wrote with James Paul Dallas, takes a step further by ambitiously making a feature almost entirely from the transcript of a recording of the actual event that occurred on June 2nd, 2017.

Though not as widely known as Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, this HBO Films release uses FBI transcriptions recorded on the day of her arrest to introduce us to Reality Winner, who printed and leaked a document from the National Security Agency’s database.

A document that revealed proof of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and later saw the publication called The Intercept, put out a call for evidence of Russian interference.

Recreated with her being served a search warrant and then eventually arrested, along with being interspersed with posts from her Instagram account and TV news footage, the weight of tension grips you from the outset, immersing you in a palpable atmosphere, while unveiling the inner workings of such interrogations, leaving you with a disconcerting awareness.

And backed by a beautifully understated performance from Sydney Sweeney, the film makes for a chilling, compelling chamber piece and offers some insight into why Reality Winner did what she did.

The story follows Reality Winner (Sydney Sweeney), a former United States Air Force member and a linguist contractor with the NSA with top security clearance, who after coming home from a grocery run, finds herself confronted by FBI agents (Marchánt Davis and Josh Hamilton) with a search warrant for house and car.

Beginning with small talk about her pets and CrossFit, the two slowly begin to question her about a potential leak of classified information. And though Reality answers all the questions and cooperates without 100% knowing why the agents are there, deep down she has an inclination what they are actually looking for.

The film comes to life as Reality is confronted by FBI agents, who keep repeating that they realize that she just made a mistake, show concern for her animals and chat about cross training. But the tension builds as the agents get Reality to talk, with the narrative unfolding like a thriller.

Working like is a slow-ticking time bomb, with the impending doom of the truth spilling out by the end. That bubbling suspense feels all the more unsettling in the compromised comfort of Winner’s house, which is invaded by men poking and prodding her every belonging. Forcing her to move the interview to a back room, where the officers have her stand against stained white walls.

The dingy open space of the abandoned room becomes claustrophobic, reducing the supposed safe space to a prison-like set up. Real life conversations aren’t as well articulated as written dialogue since we’re held back by our little quips and tongue-twisted moments, but here, the staging is done so effectively that it doesn’t feel awkward or jarring.

The film moves between audio clips, the transcript, as well as Reality’s social media posts, which helps keep things visually interesting, given that it’s working within the constraints of having the entire action of the film in one location.

And to heighten the real-life aspect of the story, director Satter shows us on-screen parts of the redacted transcription and combines that with audio recordings from during the interrogation, court transcripts and digital files. She uses flashy and matrix-looking visuals as crosscuts between the redactions, audio files and filmed scenes.

Because of this, the film becomes much more intriguing. Sometimes the visuals are a bit distracting, but they’re very effective for the biggest part of the feature.

Surprisingly, the film never really tries to come down for or against what Reality did, although I think many people would agree with her motives if not her actions, and we do find out what happened to the real Reality.

Of course, what adds more power to the proceedings is Sydney Sweeney‘s performance that doesn’t feel dramatized or blown up for entertainment purposes. In a decidedly non-glamorous role, Sweeney exudes real vulnerability and is completely believable as she more and more realizes what is happening. One of the better performances of the year.

Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis are also quite good, laying out things skillfully as the proceedings become more and more intense. On the whole, ‘Reality’ is a deeply engaging drama that is fascinating and engrossing throughout.