The Report

It tells an engaging and disturbing story of someone who is willing to go after giants, even though the chances of winning are slim. Thank you for choosing what is right, but not what's easy.

Scott Z. Burns has managed to create a contained, focused and relevant drama on important and true events. The movie is just as dedicated and willful as its main hero Daniel J. Jones, portrayed effectively by Adam Driver. Some will find it dry, some will rate it based on their political agendas, some will bash Adam Driver (for reasons I have never understood), but I think, while not without flaws, "The Report" is an admirable effort.

I'm thousands of miles away from the land of America, but I was at least vaguely familiar with the facts and happenings "The Report" is based on, the larger canvas was clear to me. "The Report" is not a spectacle, it's not overly dramatic, but moves at an even pace, offers constant flow of plot development instead of boredom - these are also the reasons why some may describe the movie as dry, promising a delivery that never comes - I get that, but I also disagree. Another satisfying aspect is the more than stellar cast, even most of the really small roles are filled by talented and known faces. Adam Driver has never failed me before, also not this time & I don't know wether the hate for him is a meme or just another dismissible and disrespectable creation by our ever degrading virtual society. I was slightly disappointed about Jon Hamm, whose face on the poster turned out to be more of a marketing device, as his total screen time amounted to around 10 minutes, maybe. I love me some Jon Hamm. All jokes aside, "The Report" might not be an exceptional, but definitely is a great effort on every level of filmmaking - acting, writing and directing included. If we talks visuals, the cinematography and aesthetical mood does nothing but adds to the overall tone and cinematic flow.

"The Report" is easy to disappear in, it's an engaging re-telling of a morally messed up events & through a convincing performance by Adam Driver we are able to identify with the subject in question. As far as political and true-events-based dramas go, "The Report" is a remarkable piece. My rating: 8/10.

The Report is based on a real Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into EIT, or enhanced interrogation techniques - a phrase we all know and one that is kindly considered the work of a marketing department on how best to sell torture given that people (and lawyers) generally have a problem with torture. It is unsurprisingly fairly blunt on the approach taken and how wrong it was. This approach makes it an important and worthy film, but also makes it a slightly lesser one.

By being so obviously outraged the film plays to the choir a bit too much (a choir that contains me, if it matters). This translates into a directness and obviousness that feels a bit too simplistic and by the numbers; this is not me suggesting that it needed to make excuses for those involved, however it could have been more nuanced with the journey and had the confidence that at the end of it the viewer would still recognise how wrong this was. In not doing this, the film is still interesting, but it feels lacking in conversation and world building, instead very much making its point. Of course for me I agree with the point, so I went with the film, but it is very on-the-nose with what it does and how it structures it. In terms of delivery though, it does do well to make the writing of a report and reading of documents to be dramatic. The cuts in time work well to put meat on the bones and helps to mix the political, ethical, and real life aspects of it

The cast is impressive in name and performance. Driver does the heavy lifting, but there is plenty of solid support from Hamm, Bening, Hall, Nelson, Levine, and others. Production values are solid throughout, and are part of it feeling like a serious, important film. It stands as such, and is a good dramatic read on a shameful period of recent history that is already mostly forgotten as it gets eclipsed by other shameful moments, and goes unmarked by the lack of consequences for those behind it. It is more important than engaging though, and could have been a stronger film for embracing the complexity more than it did.

It took Senate staffer Daniel Jones seven years to compile the 6,700-page report that brought this and other failings to light - a laborious process unpicked by writer/director Scott Z. Burns (whose script credits include The Bourne Ultimatum and No Time To Die) in a talky yet engrossing drama intentionally reminiscent of All The President's Men. Tasked by Senator Dianne Feinstein (a coolly commanding Annette Bening) with leaving no stone unturned, Jones - infused here with simmering indignation by a driven Adam Driver - systematically details the brutalities inflicted on all of the Agency's 119 detainees. Having assembled his torture dossier, though, Jones faces another uphill struggle to get it published. As Matthew Rhys' reporter ruefully observes, "they sent you off to build a boat they had no intention of sailing." As vessels go, The Report is one so overloaded with names, dates, flashbacks and acronyms it's a wonder it stays afloat. That it does should be attributed not just to the dogged conviction Driver exudes as its righteous hero but also to the film's unshakeable belief that the ugly truth will ultimately out. Burns' film is not an easy watch, not least when it depicts what took place in Langley's infamous "black sites". Like the harrowing data that inspired it, though, it defies redaction.

The quality of the actors should tell you this is a worthy story to be told. So concentrate it's a complicated tale that spans years and crosses party lines. Diane Feinstein puts a tenacious man in charge of looking into torture by the CIA. There is a lot to learn about torture. The movie shows both sides with this povs. The justifiers want to prevent another attack and save lives. The critics say in the majority of times it doesn't work, they only get info they already know and sometimes they get the wrong guy. Their aren't many movies telling how a government agency does bad things. This is one of the few. Adam Driver gives a convincing performance - outraged when he needs to be but not overacted. Annette Bening plays Feinstein. A host of familiar faces add credibility to supporting roles. This movie keeps a complex issue clear and highlights the opposition to the report from both political parties. A brave movie.