(spoiler free)
A quick Google search will easily reveal the key plot details of Tina Satter’s debut film Reality. As will the opening moments of the film’s trailer. However, this hybrid of documentary and drama is one of those truly exciting films where it really is better to watch it knowing as little as possible.
A retelling of real events; the basic premise for the film sees an NSA translator, Reality Winner (Sydney Sweeney) arrive at her home in Augusta, Georgia where she’s met by two FBI agents (Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis) armed with a search warrant. What they’re looking for isn’t made immediately clear, but it sets in motion a thoroughly gripping interrogation which makes up the entire body of the film. Those familiar with the details of the true story will quickly put the pieces together, but for those viewers naive to them, an intriguing mystery presents itself. Either way, what follows is incredibly compelling filmmaking.
The film’s aforementioned interrogation is constructed using nothing but the actual dialogue recorded by the FBI agents during the search of Winner’s house. In addition to the film’s sole use of this original dialogue, Reality also includes Winner’s real social media posts and photographs taken of her during the interrogation. Dramatised by a cast of actors and brought to life by Satter and her crew, Reality boasts an especially interesting combination of mediums to tell its intriguing story.
It’s quite remarkable too, as the dialogue, pulled directly from an FBI transcript, reads just like a carefully written script, specifically designed to deliver cinematic suspense. However, that’s not to say that it’s the source material alone that is responsible for making Reality the thrilling ride that it is. This would be unfair to its excellent trio of performers, Nathan Micay’s understated yet precise score, as well as Satter’s impressive direction – in no less than her feature debut.
In the face of such an unexpected encounter, Sydney Sweeney grounds the film in her character’s seemingly unfazed and overwhelming sense of calm. She moves through the opening scenes with a cool-headedness that seems uncharacteristic of such an alarming situation. Yet as the film progresses this supposedly unshakable sense of self-control ever so slightly begins to waver, aligning her gradual emotional submission with the stirring plot revelations that follow. Sweeney is in complete control of her performance, giving Reality an utterly captivating focal point, one that audiences may be cautiously unsure of, right up until they’re not.
She has tremendous support from Josh Hamilton and Marchánt Davis who play Agent Garrick and Agent Taylor. Hamilton is Sweeney’s main sparring partner, leading the interrogation with an insincere friendliness that fails to adequately mask the steely edge to his subsequent line of questioning. The way he’s able to shift between his somewhat socially awkward, yet amiable persona to one that’s far more pointed has an absorbing quality to it. One that’s only broken by the interjections of his partner; Davis’ character feels like the more genuine of the two agents, however he’s not quite the good cop to Hamilton’s bad cop. Both occupy this strange, untrustworthy space that continually encroaches on Sweeney’s. Davis is far more physically imposing, often using his body language, build and stature to demonstrate and reinforce just who’s in charge of the situation. Together, the pair make a for a formidable combo that, alongside Sweeney, completely command the screen.
The effectiveness of these performances are of course facilitated by Satter’s assured direction. With the help of Paul Yee’s isolating cinematography she utilises the film’s single location expertly, creating an incredibly tense and claustrophobic experience, but one that’s narrative is never limited by the small scale of where it is set. Conversely, Satter’s film communicates a narrative that reaches far beyond the parameters of the four walls that its interrogation takes place in. By using such a concentrated area and focused section of the true story, Satter has succeeded in maximising its potential impact; honing in on personal motivations rather than the larger, ensuing ramifications.
The manner in which Satter has achieved this: seamlessly blending the fact of the real story and the fiction of her reconstructed dramatisation, is such an appealing approach. Presented to the audience at the beginning of the picture, it takes this fascinating concept and maintains its initial intrigue throughout the film’s concise runtime, rarely, if ever, letting up on the tension that it so effortlessly exudes. This in itself is rousing filmmaking, but to then use this as the vehicle for a story of such great potency? Yeah, that’s invigorating cinema.
Written by Hamish Calvert
★★★★
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Thanks to Queen’s Film Theatre for screening access
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