Review by C.J. Bunce
A great reminder of the evils of corruption and misogyny, Winner is the kind of inspiring movie that will remind you what being a true patriot is all about. Released late last year and now streaming on Hulu, the biopic captures the life of expert translator and real-life U.S. Air Force Veteran Reality Winner. Her actual name, which prompted the press to make jokes and skip over the heroism of her actions at the time. She would receive the longest prison sentence ever for mishandling classified information. It’s unthinkable because she was a whistleblower revealing an intelligence report that confirmed without a doubt that Russian interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and much worse crimes have been given far less as a matter of course, including much more rampant mishandling of classified documents at the highest office in the land. And for any doubters, she admitted she did it all to put the truth out there: “I just wanted to settle a national debate and quietly accept the consequences.” The movie stars the perfectly cast Emilia Jones, who delivers a performance revealing a complex, intelligent young woman who saved countless lives in Afghanistan and came home to continue to do the right thing, only to be tortured and imprisoned.
Humor in the script by writer-director Susanna Vogel and co-writer Kerry Howley softens the punch of such serious political drama, which unfortunately may serve to downplay the bravery of Winner in taking a five-page document as a translator for the National Security Agency and sending it to the press. Available information, which the movie follows, confirms she was not doing anything remotely at the level of Edward Snowden, and that this was a one-time act.
The film tracks Winner’s youth, where an early interest in languages prompted her to being sought-out in high school by the military service to be part of a program that listened to tapped Afghan conversations to stave off bombings of American assets. The result was Winner getting awarded for being responsible for the deaths of hundreds of foreign targets. The always brilliant Zach Galifianakis (Only Murders in the Building, Baskets, Tru Calling) plays Reality’s father, Connie Britton (Nashville, Friday Night Lights) plays her mother, Kathryn Newton (Lisa Frankenstein, Abigail, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania) plays her sister, and Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) plays her boyfriend.
Emilia Jones is engaging–it’s impossible not to empathize with her and admire all her qualities, from rescuing pets to environmentalism to women’s equality to her intelligence and ability to do her job so well, all while feeling and portraying what it means to be human. Like so many, she struggles with the world she’s in, who she is and her own decisions. Actions of the feds in detaining her and their methods of torturing her will surprise many.
Why has Winner’s story been swept under the carpet? Politics, of course, and because of blatant misogyny in the powers in charge at the time, which was vocal about not wanting women in the military. But it was also a mainstream press that failed to do its job, failing to take her information and use it as the springboard for a more thorough investigation into political corruption. In a world where young people look up to people like the Kardashians and sports personalities, the movie is a good reminder of what real heroes–or heroines–look like.
It’s a compelling espionage thriller like none you’ve seen before–a thriller with heart. Winner is now streaming on Hulu.
