Susan Granger’s review of “The Report” (Amazon Studios Original)
Gaining relevance in the wake of Washington D.C.’s recent whistleblower accusations, writer/director Scott Z. Burns’ hard-hitting thriller chronicles the real-life struggle of Senate staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) to deliver a massive report on the human rights abuses committed by the CIA’s post-9/11 Detention and Interrogation Program.
Working on behalf of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, led at that time by California Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening), Dan obsessively delves into CIA malfeasance with quasi-messianic determination.
But Feinstein realizes they must proceed with caution, since a strategic misstep could suppress their revelations.
Yes, there are highly disturbing flashbacks picturing the torture of suspected terrorists, including Gul Rahman, who died in captivity. The real villains turn out to be unqualified psychologists Bruce Jessen (Douglas Hodge) and James Mitchell (T. Ryder Smith), hired by the CIA to develop the Enhanced Interrogation Techniques program.
“I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to show that but then I spoke with Alberto Mora, general counsel for the United States Navy,” Burns explains. “He said the original sin is that the CIA destroyed these (interrogation) tapes because they knew if people saw what they did, it would have been over. He told me, ‘If you don’t show this, then you are compounding the sin.’”
“Accountability and the responsibility of Congress to provide oversight of the Executive branch is a big part of what this movie is about,” concludes Burns, best known for his collaboration with Steven Soderbergh on “The Informant,” “Contagion,” “Side Effects” and “The Laundromat.”
Both Adam Driver and Annette Bening deliver convincing performances that were, unfortunately, overlooked last year during Oscar season – with supporting turns from Jon Hamm, Corey Stoll and Matthew Rhys.
Yet the grim Epilogue admits that no one responsible for the torture was ever punished, even when President Obama signed Executive Order 13491 which forbids torture, only “unless the Attorney General provides further guidance.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Report” is a slow, yet significant 7, streaming on Amazon Prime.
