The Fifth Estate Review

Rated R (Language and Some Violence)

Running Time: 2 Hours & 8 Minutes

Cast-

Benedict Cumberbatch-Julian Assange

Daniel Brühl-Daniel Domscheit-Berg

Alicia Vikander-Anke Domscheit-Berg

Carice van Houten-Birgitta Jónsdóttir

Moritz Bleibtreu-Marcus

Laura Linney-Sarah Shaw

Stanley Tucci-James Boswell

Anthony Mackie-Sam Coulson

David Thewlis-Nick Davies

Dan Stevens-Ian Katz

Peter Capaldi-Alan Rusbridger

Alexander Siddig-Dr. Tarek Haliseh

Directed by Bill Condon

Benedict Cumberbath and Daniel Brühl try their best but Bill Condon's "The Fifth Estate" is a mediocre account about the rise and fall of WikiLeaks.

Note: At AMC Empire 25.

Julian Assange: narcissistic egomaniac, security threat, or media savior? This is the central question that director Bill Condon asks in his latest film, "The Fifth Estate," but it's one that he fails to satisfactorily answer. Although the story of WikiLeaks and its eccentric founder is certainly a fascinating one, it seems somewhat premature to tell it now because it's still unfolding and the long-range ramifications of the website's actions remain to be seen. Since releasing the Afghan and Iraq War Logs three years ago, Assange has found himself holed up in a single office room at the Ecuadorian embassy in London due to allegations of sexual misconduct while whistleblower Chelsea Manning (née Bradley) was recently sentenced to thirty-five years in prison for leaking the documents in the first place. WikiLeaks has continued to release classified material to the public but hasn't received much coverage in the mainstream media as of late, with its spotlight currently stolen by another whistleblower, former NSA system administrator Edward Snowden. Written by Josh Singer (whose previous credits include television shows like "The West Wing" and "Fringe") and based on Daniel Domscheit-Berg's 2011 book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World's Most Dangerous Website, as well as David Leigh and Luke Harding's WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy, Condon chronicles the website's rapid rise and fall from 2007 to 2010, fashioning the story as a high-tech thriller but the material he covers here fails to drum up much excitement. While the film raises many interesting questions regarding WikiLeaks and its place in the media, "The Fifth Estate" fails to offer much insight about its subject matter. Despite the best efforts of Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Brühl, Condon's latest is just too dull and muddled to make the impact it wants.

While attending the Chaos Computer Club's annual conference in Berlin, Germany in late-2007, tech drone Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) crosses paths with Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who had recently founded a new website one year prior called ' WikiLeaks.' Designed to receive and broadcast sensitive information from governments and other high-profile organizations, the site works hard in protecting the anonymity of its sources. Daniel's interest in online activism led him to initially reach out to Assange via email and he quickly becomes swept up by the Australian-born hacker's charisma and his idealism regarding free speech and transparency. Believing himself to be part of a large network of volunteers, Daniel disappointingly learns that Assange has been working solo since the website's inception. WikiLeaks' reputation begins to rise when the two discover in February 2008 that the Cayman Islands branch of Swiss bank Julius Baer has been engaging in illegal activities. The site is suspended when the bank obtains an injunction but this proves to be only a temporary setback as the judge dissolves it a month later. In 2010, WikiLeaks receives thousands of classified military documents related to the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as a number of diplomatic cables from the United States. However, Assange's refusal to redact any of the information that might put lives and nations at risk strains his friendship with Daniel, who has become increasingly disillusioned with the way the site is being handled. Meanwhile, U.S. government officials Sarah Shaw (Laura Linney), James Boswell (Stanley Tucci), and Sam Coulson (Anthony Mackie) scramble to perform damage control in the wake of the leak, which puts one of their sources, Dr. Tarek Haliseh (Alexander Siddig) from Lebanon, in danger.  

The first sign of trouble in Bill Condon's "The Fifth Estate" is the opening credits sequence. Created by a digital design company called 'Prologue,' it covers the entire history of news media, from Paleolithic cave paintings to the ubiquity of the internet, in just under two minutes. It's definitely a unique way to begin your film but the execution leaves much to be desired as it gives the picture a made-for-television vibe, especially when paired with Carter Burwell's derivative score. Condon follows the main titles by initially flash-forwarding the action to July 2010, where The New York Times, The Guardian, and Der Spiegel simultaneously publish WikiLeaks' Afghan War Logs: over 90,000 classified U.S. military documents about the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2009. Regarded as one of the largest leaks in United States military history, WikiLeaks' fame (or infamy, depending on your point of view) was at an all-time high at this point but back in 2007, it was still just a one-man crew struggling to make a name for itself. This changes when ace programmer Daniel Domscheit-Berg becomes the fledgling website's first volunteer after falling under the charismatic spell of Julian Assange at a computer conference in Berlin. Since Singer draws extensively from Berg's 2011 book, he's the main character. Unfortunately, he's not a very interesting one and filtering the story through his eyes proves to be an issue as it lends the events depicted in the film a certain bias. To fix this, Condon and Singer try to go for an even-handed approach but all it does is muddle things further, resulting in an unfocused, flip-flopping presentation of Assange. One minute he's an idealistic visionary and the next he's an egotistical megalomaniac. There are glimmers of the 'real' Assange but the fleeting references to his childhood in an eccentric cult and his estranged relationship with his son (ironically named Daniel as well) fail to provide much in the way of insight. He remains a frustrating enigma and frankly, reading the man's Wikipedia page would probably prove to be more informative.

The lack of emotional investment in the characters isn't the only problem that "The Fifth Estate" suffers from. For some strange reason, Condon has chosen to tell Singer's story as a thriller but there's nothing especially 'thrilling' about the material, at least not in the conventional sense. Backed by Burwell's generic techno score (which sounds like it was ripped off from "The Social Network"), the director tries to amp up the action with flashy location title cards and a visual motif of a giant office room (curiously covered in snow) where an infinite number of Assanges hammer away on keyboards in order to expose the world's dirtiest secrets yet all of it comes across as too gimmicky and is downright distracting at times. This sprawling room also represents the website's submission platform, which Berg is forced to shut down late in the film when Assange begins behaving in a reckless manner in regards to the release of the Afghan and Iraq War Logs. To make this moment appear more 'dramatic,' Condon cuts to Berg trashing the imagined office but you're unable to take the scene seriously because it looks like a bratty child throwing a temper tantrum. There are also frequent montages of the characters traveling from one European city to the next and while this is all sleekly photographed by cinematographer Tobias A. Schliessler, it doesn't amount to much besides showing off how nice Belgium or Iceland looks.

What was supposedly about the rise and fall of WikiLeaks, as seen through the eyes of Berg and his friendship with Assange, becomes a cluttered mess by the end. There are no less than three subplots competing for our attention yet only one of them works within the context of the film. The other two involve a trio of U.S. government officials worrying about the dangers that the leak poses and try to perform damage control while a source based in Lebanon waits to be extradited but whenever the camera focuses on these characters, it feels like you're watching a completely different movie. Condon and Singer raise many interesting questions. How has WikiLeaks changed the way people consume news? Is WikiLeaks the force of good it purports to be or is it all the product of a raving narcissist who just wants his fifteen minutes of fame? Good luck finding any answers because "The Fifth Estate" literally closes with Assange telling the audience to figure it out themselves.

The film's sole saving grace is the performances. Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic as Julian Assange. It's not just the white hair and the Australian accent; the British actor really captures the man in all its facets: his charisma, his idealism, his paranoia, and especially his inflated self-important ego. However, it's still only a skin-deep portrayal and whenever Cumberbatch tries to delve deeper into Assange and explore what makes him tic, the story pulls the actor back. Daniel Brühl, fresh off his extraordinary performance in Ron Howard's "Rush," continues to impress, ably carrying the film on his shoulders despite the lack of depth afforded to his character. The two are supported by a stellar cast that unfortunately is given little to do. Alicia Vikander's Anke mostly spends her time complaining about Berg putting his work on the site ahead of her while Laura Linney, Stanley Tucci, and Anthony Mackie try to lend the film some gravitas in their one-note roles as U.S. government officials. Carice van Houten, Peter Capaldi (the new Doctor Who), and Alexander Siddig have what amounts to glorified cameos. David Thewlis, who plays freelance Guardian reporter Nick Davies, gets to give a speech about the importance of the press at the end but it's a little too on the nose, especially when he dramatically pauses to mention the film's title.

Released on October 18, 2013, "The Fifth Estate" has received largely negative reviews with 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the film 'heavy on detail and melodrama but missing the spark from its remarkable real-life inspiration.' However, they did praise Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in spite of Condon's picture serving 'as a middling showcase for [his]…talent. One person who has been particularly vocal about his displeasure with the film is Julian Assange himself. The WikiLeaks founder even tried to persuade Cumberbatch to leave the project in a letter he wrote back in January, which you can read here. His reaction isn't surprising considering the source material presents him in an unflattering light. He predicted that the film was going to fail and he was right: "The Fifth Estate" bombed with a pathetic weekend debut of $1.67 million, a 2013 worst for a feature playing in more than 1500 theaters. It'll barely make $10 million at this point. Hell, some audience members were loudly snoring while the film played! With the exception of Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Brühl, "The Fifth Estate" is a misfire all around. Its episodic structure is as informative as a Wikipedia page and Condon's choice to fashion it as a thriller ends up doing more harm than good. Yea, maybe we are better off seeking 'the truth' by ourselves.

Final Rating: 2 out of 5

"You want to know the truth? No one is going to tell you the whole truth. They'll only tell you their version. You want the truth; you have to seek it out for yourself. That's where real power lies, your willingness to look past this story, any story. As long as you keep searching, you are dangerous to them. That's what they are afraid of…YOU. It is all about you."