The script of the film is based on the FBI interrogation protocol of Realty Winner, who is suspected of disclosing classified information about Russia’s interference in the 2016 US presidential election. Sidney Sweeney, star of the TV series Euphoria and The White Lotus, plays the main role in the film.
A real story at the heart
Filmmakers say that life writes much more dramatic plots than any screenwriter, and in the case of Reality, this is indeed the case. The movie is based entirely on a true story, with minimal deviations from real events.
The film tells the story of former US military officer and National Security Agency translator Realia Winner. In 2017, she leaked a classified document to The Intercept that contained classified information about Russian military attacks on US voting software and local elected officials ahead of the 2016 election. She was sentenced to the longest prison sentence for unauthorized dissemination of government information to the media – five years and three months. On June 2, 2021, Winner was transferred from prison to a transitional facility, the Prisoner Rehabilitation Management Center in San Antonio, Texas.
The success of the original source
Initially, the story was adapted into the play Is This a Room, written by Tina Sutter. The production became incredibly popular and was a great success. Because of this, Sutter, in collaboration with James Paul Dallas, rewrote the story into a screenplay format.
Reality was also Sutter’s directorial debut.
Sidney Sweeney’s performance
The film stars Sydney Sweeney, a two-time Emmy Award nominee for her roles in the TV series The White Lotus and Euphoria. Playing with the limited space and emotional constraints of her character, Sweeney gave a strong performance that makes the viewer wonder: does Winner really not know why the FBI came to her? Or is she skillfully keeping a face of calm and confidence while hiding the truth?
In order to accurately portray the character of the real-life Realty Winner, Sidney Sweeney had a Zoom call with her while she was in prison.
“When I was preparing for the audition, I found as many interviews with Reality as I could to see how she talks, moves, and has her mannerisms,” Sweeney said.
The real-life Reality Winner approved the film
Biopics are a fairly common genre in cinema, but often, after the life of a real-life figure is depicted, negative statements, challenges, and scandals begin to surface about how accurately the story was told and what exactly it tells about its characters. But in the case of Reality, the real-life Reality Winner supported the film’s production, although she said she did not plan to watch the film because she did not want to relive her traumatic experience.
Nevertheless, Winner was happy to help Sweeney work on her character, and her family attended the film’s premiere at the Berlinale, after which Realty Winner’s mother hugged Sidney Sweeney and was very touched. The real Reality Winner also saw the play’s production – her sister held a laptop with the zoom on during one of the performances.
High ratings
The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2023. The film’s rating on Rotten Tomatoes is 93% and has a certified freshness. The Metacritic portal also gave the film 83 points out of 100, which corresponds to the characteristic of “universal acclaim”.
The Curb described Reality as “a striking piece of work that cannot be ignored in today’s era of politics and post-truth narratives.” Sidney Sweeney’s performance alone is worth the viewer’s time, and the way the film is structured and what it says is a bold and dynamic decision, the publication noted.
