WINNER
Filmmaker Susanna Fogel (CAT PERSON) tells the true story of NSA contractor Reality Winner discovering the classified document that Russia interfered with in the 2016 election and then leaked it to the press. WINNER is a black comedy biopic in a league of its own. The whistleblower story we’ve been waiting for.
The military exploited Reality’s extraordinary language abilities, critical thinking skills, and sheer humanity for more violent means. The argument about whether the end justifies the means remains open-ended. It depends on your overall opinion of the military-industrial complex. The guilt from her job translates to excessive workouts and do-gooder activities that no one else wants. Truthfully, Reality was thinking about the country when she broke protocol and then punished by the one person it affected most. It’s pretty gross, if not entirely expected.
Zach Galifianakis is Reality’s activist-minded father, Ron. He plays a proud papa with a brilliant mind and passion for justice. The apple did not fall far. Galifianakis brings the sass in all the right ways. Connie Britton is Mom Billie Winner-Davis, someone I greatly admire. I followed her on social media once the story broke, urging others to retweet and signing petitions for the Biden administration to pardon Reality. Britton delivers a pitch-perfect performance as a Texas mother with the typical priorities before Reality’s arrest.
Emilia Jones expertly shows us what a phenom Reality is, doing justice to her activist heart and take-no-shit attitude. Jones nails each beat with heart and humor. Making grown men cry in her breakout role in CODA, she once again owns the screen.
It’s an entire hour before we even touch on the infamous Russia document. The front end of the film gives us foundational reasons to root for Winner. Fogel skillfully injects humor into a story that appears authentically absurd from any sane outsider’s perspective. Jones’ narration sets the tone for the entire film. If you know Reality’s story, you understand what an indisputable hero she is. How this story got buried as quickly as it did will never cease to baffle me.
WINNER is wildly entertaining.
In Select Theaters and On Demand September 13, 2024
DIRECTED BY: Susanna Fogel
WRITTEN BY: Kerry Howley and Susanna Fogel
STARRING: Emilia Jones, Connie Britton, Danny Ramirez, Kathryn Newton, and Zach Galifianakis
RUN TIME: 103 minutes
RATING: Not Rated
GENRE: Comedy, Biography
SYNOPSIS: Based on a true story, Reality Winner (Emilia Jones) is a brilliant young misfit from a Texas border town who loves her pink gun almost as much as helping others. After teaching herself Arabic in high school so she can be of service in the Middle East, Reality is recruited by the Air Force but quickly becomes disillusioned when she finds her morals challenged. After transitioning to a money gig as an NSA contractor, Reality stumbles upon government secrets regarding Russia’s election hacking during the 2016 Presidential campaign. Does she expose the truth or keep quiet? Ultimately, she decides to leak the truth leading to her trial and historic sentencing for espionage. The film also stars Connie Britton, Danny Ramirez, Kathryn Newton, and Zach Galifianakis.
Emilia Jones plays Margot, a college student and movie theatre concession girl who goes on a date with an older patron who may or may not be a murderer. Based on Kristen Roupenian‘s 2017 viral short story in The New Yorker, director Susanna Fogel skillfully weaves a dark tale that every woman has lived.
Emilia Jones (
The script also comedically highlights how far women go to remain appealing, how we placate for acceptance, the self-deprecating behavior, and the blatant shunning of red flags. There is a sex scene that is truly something to behold. It is the most cringeworthy, amusing, icky, relatable thing any woman can watch. It accurately captures the constant fear of existing as a woman. The relentless anxiety, the people pleasing, and the patriarchal pressure from every direction, CAT PERSON nails each aspect with humor and truth in fiction.
You must be logged in to post a comment.