Exquisitely simple but formally daring, Tina Satter’s mesmerising debut conjures a ‘verbatim drama’ from the June 2017 FBI questioning of a young intelligence officer. Sydney Sweeney stars as Reality Winner, who was accused of leaking secrets to the media about Russian hacks of US voting systems in the 2016 presidential election.
Satter’s audacious experiment deftly turns the FBI audio transcript of Winner’s at-home interrogation into a gripping docudrama, recreating the abrupt, grocery-toting doorstep detention in every detail. Adapted from Satter’s hit stage play, it’s a skilful mix of the banal and the bewildering, as Agents Garrick and Taylor (a deceptively mild, deadpan double-act from Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis) initiate a whirlwind search-and-seize in Winner’s home, while chatting pets and gym routines with their dazed suspect.
This story is from the June 2023 edition of Total Film.
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This story is from the June 2023 edition of Total Film.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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