Reality is a drama based on the true events surrounding the leak of Russian interference in the 2016 election information. Starring Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner, the woman who leaked the information to The Intercept.
One of my favorite parts of this movie is how true it is to the actual events. For starters, the FBI transcript was used to build out the screenplay, mixing in some audio recordings and the official transcript of the film. A cool little touch is they redacted the audio from the movie when the transcript was redacted in real life or the recording was distorted, but it is done quite often.
Reality is made to be a small-scale movie. The events almost entirely take place at Reality’s house in a spare room and the cast is just three people who were only speaking to each other. Given the impact of what happened in real life, I like that the movie keeps it very contained. It helps that the film is based on a stage play of the events, which helps keep it grounded and use the limited space effectively.
Adding to that, the cast gives a really authentic performance. I could not get over how much it felt like Sweeney and the FBI agents were just people- stuttering through lines and attempting to make small talk. The awkwardness between them all makes it feel like the true events were playing out with some better cinematography.
The story of Reality is a real slow burn. We know very little as to why Reality is being approached by the FBI. What helps sell this is Sweeney’s performance. She feels just as in the dark as I was when first watching and selling it. Once the story pivots to an interrogation, things get a little more intense. The facades of the “awkward” FBI Agents drift away as they begin to drill Reality with questions. This made the run time feel longer than the 80-minute runtime.
I credit the writing team because watching Josh Hamilton and Marchant Davis stumble through small talk to them cutting through Sweeney’s lies is pretty great. This movie really had no business causing me this much stress. I appreciate how this movie refuses to paint Reality as right or wrong. It just tells us the events and how they happened, and we are left to make our own judgment about it.
Final Thoughts
I think the movie gets a bit too artistic with its editing cuts to reflect redactions. I appreciate how realistic it wanted to be, but I also wouldn’t have minded those gaps being filled with something more meaningful. That aside, it is a pretty tense movie anchored by Sweeney’s performance. Seeing her break character from the first minute to the last was very impressive. Reality is streaming on Max and I recommend giving it a watch.
