Annette Bening & Adam Driver Power The Report [Sundance Review]

PARK CITY – Thanks to almost non-stop political upheaval and 3-hour news cycles, some of the biggest stories of the century haven’t gotten their proper due. One of those moments was the 2012 release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture. The investigation was overseen by the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and researched by staffer Daniel J. Jones along with a minimal staff of associates. It documented how the CIA tried to cover up its own torture program (known as EIT for “enhanced interrogation techniques”) and, notably, that the agency’s own internal investigation deemed it was illegal. Sounds like great material for a movie, right? Well, yes and no. Thankfully, writer and director Scott Z. Burns at least attempts to frame the importance of this investigation in his new drama, “The Report,” which premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival this weekend.

Five years in the making, the report was spearheaded by Jones (Adam Driver, possessed), who had previous experience in congressional investigations. Both he and his team (Sarah Goldberg, Lucas Dixon, smart) went through thousands of documents and E-mails to uncover the facts about a torture program that began after the events of Sept. 11. The program was ended by President Obama three days into his first term. As the years go by, Feinstein (Annette Bening, superb) continues to stress patience to an increasingly impatient Jones. In the California Senator’s eyes, the whole story must be revealed, not just incendiary details one at a time. By the time Jones and his team had finished, they had discovered there were 119 detainees and a quarter of them were found to have no connection to terrorist groups whatsoever. They also learned that the truth about the interrogation techniques was hidden from then-Secretary of State Colin Powell and that President George W. Bush was not informed of them until 2006, four years after implementation had begun. Vice President Dick Cheney, the subject of Adam McKay’s “Vice” which casually treads on his knowledge of EIT, is not mentioned.

Much of the first half of the picture chronicles Jones learning what caused the CIA to take up torture, the exact interrogation protocols and how they ignored internal criticism from their own agents. There have been a number of films and television programs that have detailed the horrors of this program and in that respect “The Report” is up there right with them. These are disturbing and uncomfortable scenes even if Burns’ aesthetic doesn’t exaggerate or prolong the proceedings. The remainder of the film finds Jones and Feinstein at odds with the Democratically appointed CIA Director, John Brennan (Ted Levine, unrecognizable) who attempts to use the influence of White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough (Jon Hamm, solid) to scuttle the release of a potentially 6,000-page report.

While a good portion of the details is easily recalled in flashbacks, Burns is forced to have characters commit a tremendous amount of exposition in scene after scene so the audience can keep up with what is happening (trust, this is not an exaggeration). There are a lot of names, faces, and events to take in and the result is a lot for even the most politically savvy of viewers. Frankly, as important as the exact details are, you begin to wonder if Burns could have told the story in a way that was simply less dense.

Aiding Burns efforts, however, are not only the performances of Driver and Bening, but a deep bench of familiar faces including Michael C. Hall, Matthew Rhys, Maura Tierney, Corey Stoll, Tim Blake Nelson, Jennifer Morrison, and Ben McKenzie among others. Their talents keep a story that is often held in the confines of underground research offices and conference rooms more enthralling than it should be.

“The Report” is also not afraid to criticize both sides of the aisle. It recounts how President Obama decided not to move forward with a special investigation after his election to use the political capital he’d earned to push through healthcare. That responsibility was eventually left to Feinstein and Jones. It also makes clear that in order to satisfy the CIA, Obama’s White House was O.K. with releasing a version of the report that was redacted to extremes. That being said, for progressives who have decided Feinstein isn’t to the Left enough for their liking, they may see her in a different light after this film. The California Senator battled both the CIA and her own party to get the report to the American public.

But, again, it’s a lot. Burns deserves kudos for bringing a story to the big screen that clearly needs to be told, is practically screaming to be said, but the cinematic tools at his ready are often too limited to clarify it beyond the facts. There is drama in the source material for sure, but maybe a little more style could have helped elevate this moment in history for the masses. [B]

Check out all our coverage from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival here.