Right out of the gate in “Winner,” the newest film to grapple with the story of the U.S. Air Force veteran turned NSA whistleblower Reality Winner, things get off to a mighty rocky start. We hear narration from the latest performer to play Winner, a committed Emilia Jones, drolly explaining how nobody knows who she is other than they like to make fun of her unique name.
While this becomes a more valuable point later on about the dangers of media cycles and whether we’re paying attention to the real issues that matter, it also sets a troubling tone for the rest of the film. Though the grim absurdity of Winner’s story is fair game to tap into, with comedy serving as a potential tool to skewer injustices and speak to a more general audience, it instead marks the beginning of a misguided approach the film never shakes.
This opening monologue doesn’t ring true considering there already was a recent film that brought us into a part of this story in 2023’s “Reality” starring Sydney Sweeney. Though each film is interested in vastly different things, both formally and thematically, to pretend that there isn’t at least some general knowledge of Winner’s story presents the first of many missed opportunities.
While it makes for a potentially pointed joke with which to open, the more terrifying truth is that someone who has become largely known in the public eye can still be railroaded. That the film does eventually arrive at the fact that she was made an example of for leaking...
; ; ; agreed to pay $17.07 million to settle federal allegations of illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices on Friday, marking the Justice Department's first resolution unde...