Another TIFF premiere!
The film opens with Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) in basic army training. His time spent in the army is cut short by a severe injury. Unsure of what to do next, Snowden followed his strength, computer programming and diehard patriotism. He ended up at the CIA, where his skills were recognized and strengthened. Also around this time Edward Snowden meets the beautiful, free-spirited Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley) on a dating website.
As Snowden moves up in the intelligence world, he becomes alarmed at the scope of the government's surveillance into the lives of ordinary citizens. He decides to take action. Stealing his beloved country's greatest secrets and secretly meeting with journalists in Hong Kong.
The US intelligence agencies are viewed through a fairly narrow scope. Snowden is alarmed by their capability and actions in collecting private data from ordinary citizens secretly. He's mortified by the drone strikes that kill innocent people along with their targets. The film dwells heavily on these scenes which really makes the audience think that the only thing intelligence agencies did (or do) is kill indiscriminately and snoop into your computer. This film portrays Snowden as the man who had it all and then gave it up because he was morally obligated to. Snowden was stationed in paradise, made tons of money, had a loving relationship. Others before him that questioned authority through government channels were severely rebuked or criminally charged. He had no choice but to copy everything and make a run for it. It was his duty as a concerned citizen. But, it’s not really that black and white.
