The Report Review
The Report is a riveting thriller based on actual events. Idealistic staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by his boss, Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), to lead an investigation of the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. Jones’ relentless pursuit of the truth leads to explosive findings that uncover the lengths to which the nation’s top intelligence agency went to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the American public.
R: For some scenes of inhumane treatment and torture, and language
Production Companies: VICE Studios, Unbranded Pictures, Margin of Error, Topic Studios
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Runtime: 2 Hours
Writer/Director: Scott Z. Burns
Cast: Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Ted Levine, Michael C. Hall, Tim Blake Nelson, Corey Stoll, Maura Tierney, Jon Hamm
Release Date: November 15, 2019
Writer/director Scott Z. Burns’ career has seen him screenwriting action thrillers, and sometimes psychological thrillers, that feature Steven Soderbergh at the helm. But earlier this year at Sundance I saw a movie where Scott Z. Burns broke free from Soderbergh with his own directorial project, and it is undoubtedly one of the most pulse-pounding thrillers of the year. I’ve seen this movie twice now and let me tell you: Scott Z. Burns snapped. He snapped and aimed his middle finger at the top intelligence agency in America, the CIA for their inhumane interrogation acts in the aftermath of 9/11. What NWA did to the police in a 4-minute song, Burns does to the CIA in 113 minutes through film.
The Report follows United States Senate staffer Dan Jones and his 6-year-long investigation into the CIA interrogation program, where hundreds of Muslim people were ruthlessly tortured in various inhumane forms in the aftermath of 9/11. Most methods resulted in the deaths of many innocent people with little to no involvement in Al-Qaeda. After uncovering the realities of the grotesque nature of the agency, Jones goes out of his way to legally expose the truth to the American public. In immediate response, the board of the CIA (full of old White boomer patriots) goes, “Ethics? Who’s she? I don’t know her.”
I revel in movies that hold a mirror up to Americans so they can face the major crimes within their history, and this might be one of the best to do it since Spotlight or Citizenfour. With this being his sophomore directorial feature, Burns passionately pours his heart and soul into expressing the urgent matter of publicizing this 6,700-page document. He actually made a movie about the making of a 6,700-page document engaging. That’s a huge feat. Chronicling the events through a 5-year timeline with constant interwoven flashbacks, Burns puts you in the hot seat and tests your personal morality through explicit and graphic depictions of torture. These inhumane methods were directly described in the torture report and they are uncomfortable and unnerving to watch. You’ve seen waterboarding done in movies, but that’s only one of the many means of torture the CIA implemented. Each flashback only exposes something more disturbing than the previous one. The film goes over the procedures of conducting torture and how fucked up American interrogation is. It even displays the disgusting glee that these patriotic officials received from their actions.
Watching those scenes makes you wonder, “Wait, the U.S. government actually allowed this?” Your humanity is tested as you follow Dan Jones through all of the trials and tribulations he experienced in his quest to publicize this document, and the Senate’s attempt to hold the CIA accountable for their actions.
Adam Driver is at his finest as Jones. I mean, Adam Driver is fine in nearly everything he’s in, but this performance is his most proactive and passionate. Motivated by the injustice he’s reading while watching those scenes come to life with disturbing imagery, you’re emotionally connected to him. He’s so affected by this job that it consumes him and you see the weight this investigation holds over him and his peers. Most of the story is told through his perspective and after a while your notions become aligned with his, truly immersing you on this ride.
The more the story progresses, and the more information that is unraveled by the subjects involved, the more thrilling the film becomes. Jones is now a target and the CIA does their all to prevent the Senate from bringing this info to the forefront with some spy-level shit that might as well be illegal despite the fact they are the U.S. government. Wooo! Corruption everywhere!
Burns’ screenplay does a fantastic job being informative about the events while keeping the entertainment factor high. You can tell how invested Burns was in making sure the fictional subjects were completely fleshed out while laying out the risky stakes that were riding on the investigation. He holds nothing back, pointing the finger of blame on the Bush administration, Dick Cheney (in a more effective way than Vice), action thriller movies glorifying our nation’s patriotism (you know the one), and most importantly our nation’s blind patriotism which constantly triumphs over our morality. Granted, there are odd cases where the dialogue from CIA board members involves overtly despicable analogies as a means to villainize them more, but they’re still well-written enough that I’ll excuse it.
Plus, think about the research upon research done on Dan Jones, his character, and the profiles of the victims who were tortured in order to write scenes that reenact the actual events. If there’s any screenplay that deserves a Best Adapted Screenplay award in anything this year, it’s this film; The Report is razor sharp and thought-provoking while also being incredibly human. Morality and accountability are the driving forces that motivate the entire Senate Committee to dive deep and the script never loses sight of that. There are also funny lines of dialogue and character interactions that add levity to scenes without disrupting the tone. The characters don’t talk with highly-specialized mumbo-jumbo that only someone with a sophisticated level of intelligence will understand, nor does it dumb itself down for its audience. People speak to each other as human beings and the conversations they have appeal to your logical senses.
Aside from Driver you have a talented ensemble of actors and actresses who provide impressionable performances. Annette Bening is fantastic as Dianne Feinstein, Jones’ boss who keeps him in check, supports him through his findings, and serves as a reminder of the stakes of his investigation, for his research must be represented by her, putting her job and reputation at stake as well. Jon Hamm, Tim Blake Nelson, and — to my surprise — Sarah Goldberg all make valiant appearances with scenes where they all get a chance to shine, which is also a total credit to Burns’ direction. Though this is his first project with such a large ensemble, he manages to command everyone’s respective performance to follow the same level of charismatic conviction as Driver. It’s still Driver’s movie, but everyone else is fantastic as well.
Never for a moment does the movie get dull or feel routine; it keeps you engaged throughout. That said, it's easy to zone out and dissociate during moments where Jones just rambles or lashes out. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but there are ample sequences of Dan being so eaten up by his research that his exhaustion makes the viewer exhausted.
The Report is undoubtedly a movie that America needs to see. It’s a gripping narrative that counteracts patriotism, holding a mirror up to illogical and criminal history and the corruption that the U.S. government perpetrated to secure it. Scott Z. Burns boldly dives into the fear of terrorism, how it connects with our nationalism, and how it served as a gateway for the racism which affected the lives of innocent people in the Muslim community. It's a movie about protecting human rights, morality, and holding the criminals behind such heinous acts accountable no matter what division of the U.S. government they might be a part of. It's a rightful “fuck you” to our nation’s nationalism and a call on action for humanity. With that, I truly do hold The Report as one of the best movies of this year.
