Direction: Tina Satter
Country: USA
Previously staged as an Off Broadway play with the title Is This a Room, Reality puts the focus on a real episode involving Reality Winner, a former member of the United States Air Force, a Farsi translator, and a yoga and CrossFit instructor whose home in Augusta, Georgia, was searched by the FBI on June 3, 2017. A warrant was issued on the basis of mishandling of classified information.
Winner, compellingly embodied by Sydney Sweeney (Nocturne, 2020), had leaked an intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election. The two agents that approached her, Taylor (Marchánt Davis) and Garrick (Josh Hamilton), conducted a tense interrogation, but also created wry humor on several occasions - the scene involving the unlocking of Winner's cellphone is hilarious. The story moves forward in static bursts that are contained by the simple, unobtrusive direction of Tina Satter. She signs her debut feature film with promises of future quality work.
Reality is well-made but depends almost entirely on the acting. And neither the lead nor the supporting actors let it down, providing merciless authenticity through crisp performances. The hard part is to realize that the truth is not what matters here. Winner spent four years in jail and remains under tight vigilance until November 2024. The Senate used the document leaked as evidence of Russian interference. Where does patriotism lie?
