Snowden

Edward Snowden, a careful tech worker with top security clearances, grows uneasy about how the government quietly taps into the data of ordinary people. He sees programs designed to track calls, emails, and online activity; the more he learns, the more the line between national security and personal privacy blurs. He wrestles with the ethics of a system that claims to protect citizens while secretly collecting information on them. Motivated by duty and frustration with secrecy, he decides to share a trove of documents with trusted reporters sparking a global debate about accountability and the price of transparency. The film follows his calculations and the mounting pressure he faces, including strain on personal relationships and the moral toll of becoming a whistleblower. It also hints at the media machinery surrounding the story.

Released in 2016, Oliver Stone directed the film with a screenplay by Kieran Fitzgerald. It draws on Edward Snowden's accounts and reporting by Luke Harding, with consultation from Anatoly Kucherena, painting a personal portrait of a public act. The production favors a restrained, documentary tone to let the moral questions drive the narrative.

Box office worldwide totaled 37,357,216 against a 40,000,000 budget, marking a modest performance rather than a blockbuster, with audiences split between the film's documentary tone and its thriller pacing.

The film contributed to public discourse on privacy and government surveillance, highlighting how whistleblowing can shape policy debates. It helped popularize Snowden as a controversial figure and prompted discussions about data collection, civil liberties, the responsibilities of journalists, and the wider implications for tech policy and democracy.

Critics offered mixed to positive reviews, praising Gordon-Levitt's restrained, methodical portrayal and the film's focus on real world consequences, while some argued Stone oversimplifies technical complexity. Central themes include security versus liberty, transparency, accountability, and the ethics of leaking, plus the human costs of political conflict. Snowden challenges viewers to weigh privacy against security in our connected world.