Documentary film maker Laura Poitras, most famous for her 2014 film Citizenfour, a sympathetic portrait of Edward Snowden, was given unrivalled access to Julian Assange and his Wikileaks organisation to make this film. I think she was expecting to produce another documentary espousing the right to freedom of information, but it turned out to be something more complicated.
I think it is impossible to review this film without your opinion of Wikileaks and their activities colouring it. For my part, my feelings are mixed. I instinctively support their ideals and have a healthy mistrust of all governments and military hierarchies, but only a fool would not understand that our security does depend on certain agencies being able to act secretly.
So, I came into this with an open mind, and am left with a feeling that whilst many of the people leaking information are doing it for the right reasons, the organisation itself is deeply flawed. It operates in the same secretive manner that it claims is unacceptable for anyone else, using passwords, encrypted information, and clandestine meetings.
At the top of it all is Assange, an arrogant narcissist, who tries to surround himself with fawning acolytes to enable him, as he stokes his cult of personality. His dismissal of women who make allegations of sexual misconduct against him as part of a radical feminist conspiracy whilst never explicitly denying the acts presents him as deeply unpleasant and paranoid. His fleeing to the Ecuadorian embassy whilst sporting a disguise heightens the feeling that his main aim is to achieve fame whilst protecting his rear end.
You feel the scales falling from Poitras’ eyes as the years making this film pass. At one point she says in a voice over that she does not trust Assange, and by the end of the film, as he threatens her, the feeling is clearly mutual.
This is riveting and thought-provoking stuff. A minor gripe is that some complex issues are glossed over towards the end but it is a difficult subject. Also, it would be good to see a follow-up in a few years if and when the full extent of Wikileaks’ contribution to Trump becoming president becomes clear.
Rating: 8.5 out of 10