Based on a real life event this play adaptation looks at the brutal price of leaking government secrets...
Director: Tina Satter
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Josh Hamilton, Marchánt Davis
Running time: 83 minutes
It is clear from the opening moments of Reality that the director Tina Satter — in her directorial debut — has a long background in writing plays; the locations and characters are minimal with a deep emphasis on dialogue. Both the film and play, which Satter wrote in 2019 and subsequently turned into a film, are based around a real life event which saw former US Air Force member Reality Winner leak information to The Intercept about Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential elections. Subsequently her identity was discovered, with her eventually being arrested by the FBI and sentenced to five years in prison for being a whistle-blower.
That is only a small plot detail of a large and complex story that is still ongoing today; however, Satter homes in on a singular moment of Reality’s life — the moment the FBI searches her house, questions her and ultimately takes her into custody. Staying with the film is the two act structure of a play: act one focuses on Reality making small talk with the mysterious agents around her, wandering around the garden; the second act, where it becomes much more of a thriller, sees the FBI interrogate her from within a dingy, run down laundry room in the back of her house.
The minimalistic structure of the film allows Satter to strip back everything that is deemed unnecessary, to a point where the film feels purposefully sparse, almost haunting. Most noticeably in the film is the incredibly stilted dialogue which is taken entirely from the actual transcripts recorded by the real FBI. The odd dialogue is punctuated with moments of awkward silence that sees characters cast odd glances or fake smiles at each other, adding to the films overall tense atmosphere.
Dispersed throughout the film are photos from Reality’s own Instagram account and the film occasionally cuts to static audio waves, or images of the real transcripts, purposefully disconnecting the images and audio. Natural lighting and minimal camera movements also help build a feeling of naturalism and whilst the film doesn’t look ugly, few images stand out. Whilst clear through has been placed in the blocking, it feels like character’s movements and positioning doesn’t really add to the atmosphere or build the tension like it should.
Sydney Sweeney is excellent as Reality Winner; she masterfully uses her face to conjure a wide range of emotions from minute awkwardness to shock horror
Despite the film’s grounding in reality there are experimental elements to the film, such as characters or dialogue disappearing when important names or places are discussed; these feel cobbled together and are at odds with the rest of the film. Satter’s dedication to realism and the barebones aesthetics feels reminiscent of Clint Eastwood’s late career films such as Sully or The 15:17 to Paris although her collision of realism and experimentation isn’t as affective — either emotionally or politically — as Eastwood’s.
Whilst the film makes it very clear what side is the correct one, leading the audience down the pre-determined notion that determines Reality is a victim far beyond being a villain, it feels all bark no bite. There is little substance in the film’s political messaging that goes beyond a basic statement of how morally and politically corrupt the FBI, and government, are. This wouldn’t be a problem if the film gave had a strong emotional pull to it, but it simply doesn’t. At the end of the film, which features one of the worst fades and needle drops in a short while, you don’t feel much apart from a small amount of sadness — making the film feel more like tepid agitprop than something substantial.
Sydney Sweeney is excellent as Reality Winner; she masterfully uses her face to conjure a wide range of emotions from minute awkwardness to shock horror. Even though the rest of the cast do a solid job it is really Sweeney’s performance that acts as the glue holding the film together. Overall, the film is a rather middling affair: it has a great central performance, has some intriguing concepts in the notion of adapting real life events and at times can actually be legitimately funny. However, it isn’t enough to simply film a play on a location as opposed to a stage without adding any of the texture that makes cinema stand out; the ideas and concept is there, but the technical craft is lacking.
Reality is showing in cinemas, including Broadway cinema, on June 2nd
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