Manuel here. We did it last year when we got our first look at the poster for that other Joseph Gordon-Levitt biopic film (remember The Walk? No?) so let’s do the same with this new one sheet for the Oliver Stone flick about Edward Snowden after the jump...
- How many “Oliver Stone” mentions can you spot? (“3” is not the right the answer.) Is the director’s name even a draw anymore for moviegoers or critics anymore? At this point, isn’t he more associated with box office and critical misfires (Savages, W., Alexander) than with the great films that cemented his reputation (Wall Street, JFK, Born on the Fourth of July)?
- Perhaps not coincidentally, my mind immediately went to that lovely still image from Zero Dark Thirty where Chastain’s shadow was reflected off of the American flag. And now I’m wondering if Bigelow’s follow-up (on the 1967 Detroit riots) may be ready later this year, but perhaps that’s because I wish Nat would have more female directors to include in his Oscar predictions chart.
- Speaking of female directors, can this fictionalized narrative even measure up to Laura Poitras's CITIZENFOUR and her (I hear) amazing exhibit at the Whitney Museum, "Astro Noise" which covers more ground in terms of government surveillance? Better yet, can it survive as a film without getting entangled in the politics it will no doubt spouse?
- I can’t be the only one rooting for JGL, who nails Snowden’s tone and cadence in the film’s trailer (see below), but there’s no denying the fact that he’s had trouble translating his off-screen charm and charisma into a feature film career worthy of his talent. Might Snowden do the trick?
“The only safe place is on the run”
- Sometimes taglines work better in theory than in practice.
- I appreciate that Shailene gets equal billing (and she’s even featured in the poster if ever so obliquely) but do we think her role will be that of supportive partner? (My favorite description of such a role will always be Emma Thompson’s “'Please don't go and do that brave thing. Don't! No, no, no, no, no!”)
- The poster’s framing and color scheme reminded me of something but I can’t quite place it so I did a Google Image search:
...and well, maybe the answer was “Any other poster from the past decade with slate blue hues”?
In case you wanted to take an extended look at JGL-as-Snowden, catch the trailer below. My favorite part? When Snowden gets his own Keira-in-Imitation Game moment:
What are everyone else’s thoughts? Is this another W. in the making?