My mini-review of Bill Condons The Fifth Estate When dealing with a polemic figure like Julian Assange and a controversial website like WikiLeaks, how does one depict them in a scripted motion picture? Director Bill Condon and screenwriter Josh Singer make the interesting decision to turn this into an ensemble piece, focusing on multiple points of view and for the most part, it works. The big debate it deals with is the question of how much do we keep secret and how much do we let loose on the world. Its important for something like WikiLeaks to exist, especially in a society where the government is closely watching us (as recently revealed by the currently-hiding Edward Snowden). However, there also needs to be some level of control over the information that does go out to protect our privacy. The Fifth Estate portrays Assange as somebody with no problem revealing everybody elses secrets, but he wants himself to be completely undetectable. Some of the most interesting moments to be found here are the contrasts between Assange and his cohort Daniel Berg. We also get some fascinating perspective from the Guardian journalists and a couple of government agents. All of these plots are thrown together and rarely is the pace thrown out of whack. It somehow all fits together, thanks to Condons careful direction. In making a film where most of the characters are typing away at their laptops, Condon provides some well-done visual flourishes. One particularly clever idea is showing Bergs inner vision of WikiLeaks, which is closer to a regular office than the seedy underbellies and hotels lurked in by the webmasters. The way the film jumps from location to location is also well handled with the production designers carefully giving each one a unique feeling. The ensemble cast is also consistently strong. Benedict Cumberbatch digs into Assange, doing a good job on the accent and his usually unemotional state. However, when Assange gets angry, its certainly felt. Daniel Bruhl also brings sympathy to Berg and while her screen time is on the small side, Dutch actress Carice van Houten is always a delight. Some of the most entertaining scenes come from the American government agents, played by Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie and Stanley Tucci. Its interesting to see their reaction to the leaks and one sequence almost plays like a bit out of Argo. Unfortunately, this is the subplot given the least attention as most of The Fifth Estate chooses to focus on the website itself and its growing relationship with the major newspapers. Overall, despite its tiny gross and its likelihood of being forgotten (something sure to please the real Julian Assange), I found this to be an engaging and well-handled film on a fascinating subject.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:01:24 +0000
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