The Report

Fascinating. America accuses itself of crimes against humanity. This procedural dialogue-based movie with the dogged Driver has drive and an unexpected outcome (luckily with a closing title showing that justice will not be served in any case) even though it’s based on actual events. The Report is admirably convincing with raw flashbacks showing enhanced interrogation techniques in practice, which just serve to emphasize the message that, thanks to this film, we don’t have to read the 7,000-page torture report to find out. P.S: I liked the reference to Jack Bauer. (01/12/2020)

A reserved pure bureaucratic procedure “names-dates-facts-dates-names", which recapitulates some six years of way to detailed work. Nowhere is there even a hint of anything personal, as all dialogues, dilemmas and actions of everyone revolve only around the compilation, promotion, political (non) acceptance, (non) acceptance and (mis) recognition of the results of the central analysis, whose conclusions test and sharpen the sharpest edges of the law and transform them into information / responsibility / the boundaries of democracy / political power / understandable pragmatism, etc. I said already it is a pure procedural movie. And a damn good one. Thy only problem is that Burns is a little bit lost in terms to what extent of details the movie should go into. So, at one point he literally investigates how much sugar XY put in his coffee at a specific meeting, while after that he describes the course of few months/years in just one sentence. And this is true until the moment when the report of about seven thousand pages is written, and a more tangible and fun phase of “this must / must not be published" both in terms of direction and script will start. (11/30/2019)

I’m increasingly becoming fond of films focused on politics and secret services! They offer a ton of information about how things really work behind the scenes. And they can be quite surprising! The Report relies on an excellent cast, with the amazing Adam Driver taking center stage. He once again showcased his talent, immersing himself completely in his role. The rest of the ensemble also did a commendable job, with Ted Levine particularly standing out as the CIA director. The sharpness of the dialogue is reminiscent of the best genre works, like those by Sorkin; the screenplay is finely crafted down to the last detail. I’m glad that I'm a bit smarter about this topic now. And in conclusion... I also confirmed one thing... An individual can do little against the entire system. A sad but true fact. A solid piece of filmmaking. 7.5/10 (09/04/2021)

The dark side of the Force of Republican agencies with their interrogation program, which clearly wasn't the right tool, versus the idealistic Kylo Ren on the side of the Democratic Jedi. I understand his idealism and sense of justice, but it would only take one close friend to perish at the hands of terrorists, and becoming a Sith wouldn’t be that difficult... A factual conversational whirlwind from the offices of state officials with common goals but differing interests. Soderbergh’s screenwriter imbued it with the sterile chill of his director, yet the mystery of the appeal of his style remains undisclosed. The climax with the sated wolf and the unscathed goat aligns with reality. Let’s take it that in the work of agencies combating terrorism, the most important things are precisely those that do not happen. We can rightfully criticize America for the direction it's heading, but it does have some democratic principles set up correctly. Elsewhere, they might have jumped out the window while attempting to compile a similar report. (05/12/2021)

This is not the first film criticizing the foreign policy of the US (and their closest allies) that I’ve seen recently. Official Secrets, which I saw earlier, was slightly better in comparison, as there was certainly more action. The Report seemed somewhat dry to me. I do understand that it is difficult to produce an action thriller out of a giant pile of papers and a windowless basement room, but still... I have never liked inquisition practices and I don't like religious fanatics either (it kind of goes hand in hand) and I have no idea why Americans were so surprised when they had to face terrorist attacks. After all, it was they, along with the Soviets, who supplied weapons to every kind of war on the planet just to gain more influence than their opponents. Now it’s coming back to bite them in the ass. It also goes to show that the Nuremberg trial was just a farce. There is no prospect of improvement. Despite having all the key information, the Americans still elect Big Mouth into the Oval Office. 4*- (05/15/2020)