Director Oliver Stone has never turned away from controversial subjects in his films. From his take on the Vietnam war in his Academy Award-winning Platoon as well as Born on the Fourth of July to the ultimate conspiracy in JFK, Stone has had little issue making films about subjects others may have avoided. However, since 1991 and the release of JFK, you’d be hard pressed to find a good Oliver Stone film.

While Nixon and World Trade Center have received somewhat positive reviews, including Nixon receiving Academy Award nominations, they both lack the interest, entertainment, and enjoyment of entering Oliver Stone’s United States. 25 years later comes Snowden, a film that at times channels some of the interest and education found in Stone’s great films pre-JFK.

The film is based on the true story of Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency employee and contractor for the U.S. government who copied and leaked classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013. The information he leaked revealed numerous global surveillance programs run by the NSA and the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance, including the added assistance in spying from telecommunication companies and European governments. Since then, Snowden has been charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 and theft of government property.

Why did Snowden do what he did?

Stone uses the narrative of the film to explain why his protagonist copied and leaked the confidential information. He helps us understand Snowden’s motives but brings up questions we should be asking ourselves as citizens of this great country. While the story is conventional, Stone visually educates the audience by showing how computer spying is conducted. He lays out the computer jargon into layman’s terms.

The film even depicts how you might be connected to someone with malicious intentions a la 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. From tracking your email and text messages to the simplicity of facetiming a family member in another state can be used as a cause by the government to investigate you. Stone effectively shows us tactics undertaken by the government that ultimately lead to Snowden’s transformation from blinded patriot to “traitor” by the country he trusted without question.

Snowden could not have been done without the performance of Joseph Gordon-Levitt who shines in the role of Edward Snowden. A year after his accent and performance in The Walk were both criticized, Gordon-Levitt becomes the titular character. From his appearance to his voice, JGL does a great job in his portrayal and makes you feel for and understand his motives. However, what hurt last year’s The Walk is what has hurt Snowden this year. These two films have followed two excellent documentaries on the same subject. Snowden‘s being 2014’s Academy Award-winning Citizenfour brought to life the events seen in this film and received critical praise. While one is a documentary and one is a dramatic narrative, it is hard not to compare the two and accuracy. 

While not in the upper tier of Stone’s films, Snowden is an educational tour into Oliver Stone’s U.S. The film has a feel of JFK and brings to light more questions most of us would never think to ask. His message of privacy invasion is clear.

Will this lead to the public deleting their Facebook accounts and placing tape across their webcams when not in use? Probably not, but the realization should become crystal clear that while we may be living in the greatest country in the world, we don’t always play fair.

Reel Talk gives Snowden 3 Reels