Amazon has announced that Scott Z. Burns’ “The Report” will be released on November 30th, 2019 That is a more Oscar-friendly date than its originally announced one (September 20th).
Buzz is building on Burns’ movie. “The Report” was praised by critics back in January at Sundance, I was a fan, writing that it was “a brutal and unforgiving journey into the deepest pits of governmental corruption.” Knowing what’s going on right now with the FBI/CIA abuses being uncovered, I would think this is a fairly relevant movie to watch, especially a few months from now …
Here’s the official synopsis from Sundance:
“Senate staffer Daniel Jones (Adam Driver) is assigned the daunting task of leading an investigation into the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program. After analyzing extensive evidence, he learns about the “enhanced interrogation techniques”—proven to be brutal, immoral, and ineffective—that the CIA adopted after 9/11. When Jones and the Senate Intelligence Committee attempt to release the results from his investigation, however, the CIA and White House go to great lengths to prevent the truth from getting out.”
It does look like there will be bows at TIFF and Telluride for “The Report,” and then amazon will take over, hoping it won’t be swept up into the oblivion and chaotic fervor of the Oscar season months. “The Report” could still make a mark, it’s as relevant as any movie likely to be released this year. We now have a trailer.
I wrote this email to a friend earlier this week:
“The Report” started off very slow but the second half is strong. It works, for the most part. Driver is excellent. Ditto Benning as Feinstein. The villain of the whole thing is Obama's former CIA director John Brennan, as played by Ted Levine. It helps that it is very of-the-moment, but I can see many being underwhelmed by the subtleties of the movie. It's a very distancing piece of work from Burns, he really goes for ice-cold detachment, which will alienate many.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.