There's an old saying that goes "those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it". Films like "The Report" are made to make sure that message is taken to heart. Fortunately, this is about as good as it gets in that department.
For a very basic overview, this film focuses on Daniel Jones (Adam Driver), a Senate staffer working for Dianne Feinstein (Annette Benning). Jones is tasked with piecing together an accounting of the United States' Detention & Enhanced Interrogation program implemented by the CIA immediately following the events of 9/11. What Jones finds is a trail of lies, cover-ups, justifications, and an ineffectiveness that borders on criminal.
What makes "The Report" so sad (and thus so emotionally compelling) is the slow realization it builds to, which is that not one piece of actionable material was gained from the use of torture and detention. The entire program was a charade that conflicted previous CIA findings in the realm of interrogation, relied on pseudo-science of the most dubious order, and was sanctioned by the highest levels of the White House for years. This from a Bush Administration which had the temerity to directly say "we do not torture".
When sitting down to watch this movie, please make sure to give it some time to unspool. At first, it looks like it might be a B-level flick, filled with enough names, dates, and places to make your head spin a bit. But as it narrows its focus, it turns into an absolute treatise on its sensitive subject matter. The same can be said for Driver's performance. It starts out a bit underwhelming, but by the end is quite powerful and moving.
A final major positive to take from "The Report"? It truly is not much of a partisan film. While it refers to the Bush Administration by necessity, this isn't a picture for the express consent to bash any specific person or party. It has an agenda (to show the horrors of inflicting severe bodily harm/discomfort on others in the name of national security and ultimately have absolutely nothing to show for it), but it isn't preachy about it.
Upon finishing "The Report", you'll likely be pretty steamed, and that's about the greatest compliment I can give it. Easily the kind of thing you could show a class of students (or event adults who lived through the events) to give a sort of counter-perspective removed from the rah-rah patriotism which was occurring at the time.
For a very basic overview, this film focuses on Daniel Jones (Adam Driver), a Senate staffer working for Dianne Feinstein (Annette Benning). Jones is tasked with piecing together an accounting of the United States' Detention & Enhanced Interrogation program implemented by the CIA immediately following the events of 9/11. What Jones finds is a trail of lies, cover-ups, justifications, and an ineffectiveness that borders on criminal.
What makes "The Report" so sad (and thus so emotionally compelling) is the slow realization it builds to, which is that not one piece of actionable material was gained from the use of torture and detention. The entire program was a charade that conflicted previous CIA findings in the realm of interrogation, relied on pseudo-science of the most dubious order, and was sanctioned by the highest levels of the White House for years. This from a Bush Administration which had the temerity to directly say "we do not torture".
When sitting down to watch this movie, please make sure to give it some time to unspool. At first, it looks like it might be a B-level flick, filled with enough names, dates, and places to make your head spin a bit. But as it narrows its focus, it turns into an absolute treatise on its sensitive subject matter. The same can be said for Driver's performance. It starts out a bit underwhelming, but by the end is quite powerful and moving.
A final major positive to take from "The Report"? It truly is not much of a partisan film. While it refers to the Bush Administration by necessity, this isn't a picture for the express consent to bash any specific person or party. It has an agenda (to show the horrors of inflicting severe bodily harm/discomfort on others in the name of national security and ultimately have absolutely nothing to show for it), but it isn't preachy about it.
Upon finishing "The Report", you'll likely be pretty steamed, and that's about the greatest compliment I can give it. Easily the kind of thing you could show a class of students (or event adults who lived through the events) to give a sort of counter-perspective removed from the rah-rah patriotism which was occurring at the time.