Tense 'Reality' sticks to the facts
Max
Full disclosure: I’m not super excited to watch anything about the period between 2016-2020. The reasons should be obvious.
Yet “Reality,” a less-than-80-minute account of Reality Winner (Sydney Sweeney) being questioned by FBI agents (Josh Hamilton, Marchant Davis) who, it eventually becomes clear, already know that she shared highly classified information about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, is streamlined and riveting. Remarkably sticking entirely to the transcript of real 2017 events for all dialogue, director/co-writer Tina Satter generates enormous tension from the gradual emergence of truth and the complicated question of what to do with it.
Once again, Sweeney (“The Voyeurs,” “The White Lotus”) proves her skill and star power, though “Reality” gives her a chance to work with a different sort of muted feelings, and she’s fantastic. Hamilton and Davis are excellent as well, the former a great choice for Agent Garrick’s awkwardness and the latter perfect in alternating between Agent Taylor’s conscientiousness and firmness. This is mandatory viewing for anyone who’s ever wondered how an FBI interrogation occurs and recommended for anyone who just enjoys a filmmaker and a cast in control of material and the stunning, high-stakes events that can occur anywhere, even Augusta, Georgia.
It’s hard not to wonder if “Reality” might have benefitted a bit from coloring just a little more outside the lines. It wouldn’t be easy to broaden the scope with a situation this dense, obviously, but as is the film is a tad limited in its information and impact. While it’s understandable that Satter had to find a way to visually redact certain parts of the conversation, the technique is more of a distraction than a success.
But it should be an objective fact that this story is important and that “Reality” is an achievement in recreating real life in a way that doesn’t feel fake. There have been so many instances in the last several years of reality being stranger than fiction, among them a person daring to take a great loss for the sake of distributing factual information being named REALITY WINNER. Surprisingly funny and worthy of thought and discussion, “Reality” of course isn’t an escape but it isn’t a slog either. Accept it.
B
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