10 Best Movies Of 2023 (So Far)
6. Reality
The infuriating story of Reality Winner - a former NSA translator who leaked documents about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election - is brought to mesmerising life in Tina Satter's impressive filmmaking debut.
Adapted from Satter's own play "Is This A Room," Reality is a minimalist account of the fateful day in 2017 when FBI agents paid a visit to Winner's (Sydney Sweeney) home to discuss her possible involvement in leaking said documents.
Set almost entirely in the single location of Winner's home for all of its 82 minutes, Reality embraces its play-like construction to emphasise the walls closing in on Winner over the course of her increasingly tense interview with two FBI agents (played brilliantly by Marchánt Davis and Josh Hamilton).
But it's Sweeney who categorically steals the show with her superbly calibrated turn, depicting a Winner whose defenses progressively crumble over the course of the afternoon, before her unjust fate finally arrives.
As a testament to making a blistering impact with minimal resources, Reality shines a vital light on Winner's story in unforgettable fashion.