The Fifth Estate (2013)

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1. 

   Ann_R

   The final scene

   (Assange's monologue)

   was wonderful. 10 years 6 months ago
2. 

   jamie_atp

   Terrible script & embarrassing screenplay that let down a good cast. 10 years 6 months ago
3. 

   Siskoid

   Given my interest in media and journalism, I was attracted to The Fifth Estate (or "the WikiLeaks movie"), but the film lacks focus. There's a good movie in there, but damned if anyone involved knows what it's supposed to be. It's really the third act that lets it all slip away. Before that is a slick exploration of how information technology has changed and how the mainstream media failed to keep up with it. The hacking elements feel legit and are easy enough to follow despite their technical aspect, and the film also stands as a reminder of the events exposed by WikiLeaks. But then the film becomes what its central character - Julian Assange - criticizes the mainstream for doing - it abandons the socio-ethical questions it raises to focus instead on Assange's strangeness. As the third, rather pointless act unfolds, we come to realize the protagonist, Assange's partner Daniel Berg (who wrote the book, so it's mostly from his perspective) has a plentiful lack of agency throughout. For a real person, he really is just a vessel for other characters' thoughts and agendas and never does anything unless pushed into it by others. And then there are the poor diplomats who become side-heroes, though their own wrong-doing is glossed over. The final blow is a preachy, pretentious tacked-on scene that presumes to explain the movie's title and Assange's character. And then there's an interesting meta-textual bit, but by then you've given up. Does the movie celebrate or condemn Assange? Like WikiLeaks itself, it drowns you in dense information and claims neutrality. In reality, it schizophrenically swings from one position to another and lands absolutely nowhere. A frustrating experience, but one that certainly created a lot of discussion with the people I watched it with (in fact, a lot of these notions must be credited to them, fellow Lonely Heart Marty especially). 8 years 8 months ago

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