Sorry about ‘Christy,’ but Sydney Sweeney’s first performance based on a true story is still her best

Sydney Sweeney didn’t quite manage to find the same success at the box office as it did on the small screen. Despite acclaimed performances in shows like The White Lotus And EuphoriaSweeney has struggled to appear in films that have underperformed compared to expectations. Although she has shown interest in transforming herself to play real people, Sweeney gave his best performance yet in an unreleased biopic that debuted on HBO. Reality was picked up by HBO Films shortly after its debut at the Berlin Film Festival, and it’s not entirely surprising why it skipped theaters; compared to simpler biopics, Reality takes an unconventional approach to reproducing recorded conversations.

Reality Winner is a Texas whistleblower who gained notoriety by leaking classified documents indicating that Russia was involved in manipulating the 2016 presidential election. Donald Trump. Although a simpler biopic titled Winner featuring Emilie Jones was released the following year, Reality was a direct adaptation of recorded conversations between Winner and two FBI investigators who arrested her following intense interrogation. What could easily have been an exercise in bland experimentation turned out to be a gripping modernization of the political thriller genre and forced Sweeney to fully immerse himself in a controversial character.

“Reality” has a unique docudrama approach

Reality succeeded by developing its narrative primarily in real time, with only brief introductory and concluding segments used to establish what events led Winner to make her decision. The narrow perspective of Reality allows the film to focus singularly on the intensity of the moment without suggesting ulterior motives or making any abject statement. It’s likely that audiences already have strong opinions about Winner’s actions, and the film doesn’t attempt to present anything about her life that isn’t on the record. Moreover, this tunnel vision ensures that Winner is trapped in the intensity of the moment and cannot yet see whether her actions have a significant impact on the direction of American policy. Even if she accepted the consequences linked to the disclosure of critical information, the issues Reality feels personal because it is one’s specific daily routine that is disrupted.

Sweeney was under increased pressure to make adaptive choices given the parameters of her performance; while she had to replicate the exact cadence, accent, and phrasing of the real winner, she also added a visual component consistent with the textual dialogue. Reality is a slow burn that shows a young woman gradually becoming aware of the danger that awaits her.like the conversation with FBI agents Justin C. Garrick (Josh Hamilton) and R. Wallace Taylor (Marchant Davis) doesn’t resemble the type of overdramatized interrogation that would appear in a spy film. Rather, it is a deceptively friendly encounter in which the agents present themselves as sympathetic to Winner’s situation while making subtle threats and assessing her knowledge of legal rights. Even though the dialogue is not original, Reality finds a way to shape these conversations to hint at the mental cat-and-mouse game going on. There’s also a subtle examination of power dynamics that comes through only in the intricacies of Sweeney’s physical performance; Even though what the FBI agents are doing is technically legal, the idea of ​​two older men wielding their authority to intimidate a young woman is disturbing.

“Reality” Features Sydney Sweeney’s Most Transformative Performance

Reality achieves a level of authenticity normally reserved for the stage, which makes sense since it’s based on a one-act play by the film’s writer/director, Tina Satter. The notably modest production design and stripped-down environments illustrate the banality of the situation, which removes any distance that would normally exist in a biopic. Reality examines the profound irony of a complex situation in which the public’s perception of a very important election is determined by a series of awkward encounters between a young woman and two men who are staying at her modest home. In fact, Winner’s main concern at the start of the interview seemed to be the safety of her pets, as she may not have thought about the jail time she could potentially face. Reality also works as a strange coming-of-age story, as it highlights just how young Winner was at the time of her arrest; a twenty-something woman with limited life experience is somehow responsible for exposing an act of corruption that compromises the integrity of American institutions.

The argument is often made that the majority of biopics do little more than scratch the surface of interesting stories and might work better as a documentary. Reality breaks the biopic mold by finding drama in undeniable eventsforcing viewers to check their biases at the door. This is a notable departure from roles Sweeney has taken on in the past, as the strengths of Winner’s beliefs are not revealed until the end of the film, in which she is forced to confess her feelings after being labeled a “whistleblower.” Although Sweeney has made a conscious effort to work with renowned art-house filmmakers like Ron Howard And Quentin Tarantino, Reality is an example of how she leverages her star power to promote an up-and-coming filmmaker who has a fresh perspective on the subject. Although it was not released in theaters, Reality is both proof of Sweeney’s range and the type of experimental historical drama that Hollywood should produce more often.

Reality is available to stream on HBO Max in the United States