"Reality" - Where the law, film, and a real story crossover.

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 Reality | Official Website for the HBO Original | HBO.com

Reality (2023) couldn’t have come out at a more appropriate time, with another high profile case centered around the Espionage Act in the public eye over the last few months. For those not familiar with the Espionage Act, this is effectively an act that can prosecute people for treason and whistleblowing with sensitive government information. Reality Winner worked in the US Air Force as a translator, and leaked documents related to potential election fraud. Over the 80 minute runtime, Reality covers the interrogation in which the FBI confronted her, wanting to know why she did this.

What’s especially interesting about Reality is how true to life the production and story is. The FBI recorded the whole interview on tape and took photos of Reality. The script isn’t a sensationalized version of what happened, it’s literally word for word from the interview transcript. This gives the whole watch experience an off putting feel, as if you’re really there. Most of the movie is set within Reality’s house as the FBI slowly turn up the heat in their interrogation. The performances from Sydney Sweeney (who plays Reality) and the two main agents are fantastic as they recreate the tones and pauses from the interview audio perfectly.

Reality isn’t groundbreaking by any means, but it does a great job capturing what happened as well as putting you in the shoes of both sides. There’s not exactly a pro or anti whistleblowing message here, it leaves you with a variety of ideas to consider on your own. There’s a neat little visual aberration effect for when classified information is mentioned, which I thought was cool. A solid watch all together, and definitely worth checking out from a historical perspective. 

You can stream Reality (2023) on Max.

Comments

  1. EmilySosbySeptember 1, 2023 at 7:55 AM

    Hello, James! I have heard of Reality (2023) but never thought of watching it. I liked how you gave the real life story behind Reality. I never heard of this case before your blog post. I enjoyed reading your thought about the production of the show. I never think past the surface levels of shows and movies. In my opinion, it makes the show more interesting when they use historically accurate information. Your post made me interested in it so I will definitely be reading more about the case and watch the TV show. Great post!

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