Winner, 2024.
Directed by Susanna Fogel.
Starring Emilia Jones, Connie Britton, Zach Galifianakis, Danny Ramirez, Kathryn Newton, Leah Gibson, Averie Peters, Sam Duke, Stephanie Sy, Adam Hurtig, Shannon Berry, Ben Esler, Gino Anania, Reese Alexander, Nazariy Demkowicz, Henriette Ivanans, Bradley Sawatzky, Kristian Jordan, Cory Wojcik, Robert Nahum, and Dan De Jaeger.
SYNOPSIS:
Winner is a brilliant young misfit from Texas who finds her morals challenged while serving in the U.S. Air Force and working as an NSA contractor.
Winner (the second Sundance-selected feature from director Susanna Fogel and star Emilia Jones) begins on an off-putting note, not necessarily through its own fault. Using excessive narration throughout, Reality Winner opens the film by stating that viewers have likely never heard of her before and that if they did, it was probably for a flippant, dismissive context painting her in a negative light. The problem with this presumption is that roughly a year ago, HBO Max beat them to the punch with Reality (which played the Berlinale Festival), a sweaty single-location brother that saw Sydney Sweeney as the same figure giving the best performance of her career, so far, under investigation suspected of leaking classified documents revealing that the United States government was lying about the knowledge of Russia’s election interference via hacking.
For better or worse, Susanna Fogel and screenwriter Kerry Howley have taken a different approach and tone, one much more interested in the idea that despite the odd name Reality Winner and her enrollment in the Air Force as a translator eavesdropping for terrorist threats, eventually followed by a job with the NSA, she was an average teenager and young woman that cared about the same things most people relate to. A dedicated animal lover, there is an entire subplot here about her rescuing an abused and malnourished dog, which also ties into her entering a relationship with Andre (Danny Ramirez) after initially being resistant to the idea of dating anyone.
Beyond that, there is an abundance of wacky humor (especially with Zach Galifianakis present as the goofball, sensitive father) and character interactions that don’t feel far off from the previous collaboration between Susanna Fogel and Emilia Jones, the highly divisive age-gap relationship thriller Cat Person. This approach has its ups and downs, as it does successfully portray Reality as a woman with relatable struggles and familial dysfunction, mainly in her mother, Billie (Connie Britton), who doesn’t quite get the full grasp of her daughter’s passionate political beliefs (somewhere between patriotic and increasing frustration that the system has her more focused on enemies than helping civilians in war-torn countries) and sister Brittany (Kathryn Newton), who basically thinks her sister is weird.
A thread is running throughout that those in the Air Force who jump ship to the NSA for more money are considered sellouts. Naturally, this becomes something Reality doesn’t want to do, but a deceptive government and family health troubles gradually push her in that direction. Disappointingly, Winner doesn’t hone in on this dynamic, mostly spending its running time on surface-level personal relationships that come across more as the filmmakers dragging out the proceedings until the eventual whistleblowing antics and ensuing criminal investigation. She ends up placed in a position questioning her duty to self, family, and country, which also feels underexplored.
Since Winner is committed to finding the average woman in reality, the typically outstanding Emilia Jones’s performance is lackluster and too ordinary. This is a film that only explores who she is in broad strokes. This also means that when the tone shifts to something much more serious, intent on inciting outrage, it is ineffective and pales compared to the suspense found in last year’s Reality. However, even without comparing the two, Winner feels misguided from its conception, which is a shame since Susanna Fogel and Emilia Jones have proven to be a dynamic duo.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
Originally published September 10, 2024. Updated September 11, 2024.
