The Report
Adam Driver is typically brilliant in this impressively mounted dramatisation of the US Senate’s investigation into torture conducted during the War on Terror
Steven Soderbergh’s frequent collaborator and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns has a hard sell with his debut feature. In grim detail, The Report chronicles the US Senate’s investigation into the government-sanctioned “Enhanced Interrogation Methods” (see also: torture) that went on during the Iraq War. Daniel J Jones (a typically brilliant Adam Driver) is given the unpleasant task of heading up the inquiry.
Burns’ screenplay impressively manages to condense the context of the Iraq War, the content of the real report and continual flashbacks and flashforwards into a tight package. The combination of this solid foundation with stellar casting – including Annette Bening as the conflicted Senator Dianne Feinstein – moves The Report along deftly with urgent, quiet, righteous fury.
Burns never lets the film fly off the handle and The Report is better for his control. As a director, he might lack the stylish flourishes of other filmmakers in this genre but nonetheless, The Report is engaged, political filmmaking, featuring one of Driver’s best performances to date.
Released 15 Nov by Curzon; certificate 15
Scroll on to read our interview with Adam Driver on his role in new Noah Baumbach film, Marriage Story