Movie Review: The Fifth Estate

Cast:  Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl

Director: Bill Condon

Synopsis:

 Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Julian Assange, the charismatic and notorious whistle-blower and founder of WikiLeaks. The plot is based on the emergence and subsequent popularity of Wikileaks and how it brought about great criticism on the various establishments from every corner of the world.

Review:

Yet another gripping biopic has had me gaping. The Fifth Estate is craftily directed serving as an eye-opener. It is based on the book written by Assange’s former aide, Daniel Berg, who left him on the issues of the “Anonymity” policy of the website.

The whole world hasn’t seen the power of Information Technology yet. The major establishments are exploiting their subjects on will and there is a dire need to give freedom to these poor men. Assange is deeply influenced by this ideology and owing to his horrendous childhood experiences with a certain cult, he decides to create chaos among these establishments. He gathers classified information from unknown sources and publishes them, keeping the sources safe. Many people join his crusade, but during one of his leaks, he gives more importance to the leak rather than the source, which enrages his fellow-mates and puts his mission in jeopardy.

Benedict Cumberbatch perfectly blends into the role of Assange. His subtle acting coupled with the somewhat Australian accent seems perfect for the role. Daniel Bruhl also plays a major part in influencing the ideas of Assange as Daniel Berg. The writing and screenplay of the movie stands out from the rest with piercing punch-lines and dialogues. The emotions and sentiments of the various characters, especially Berg’s when he vehemently opposes Assange against leaking information war logs on Afghanistan are caricatured beautifully.  The pace of the movie is well-maintained.  The costume and make-up team has done a wonderful job making the reel stars look real.

The movie, being based on the book, doesn’t show Assange’s initial life in detail and how he managed to get the information from his sources. The movie has an element of biasness because it shows Assange’s efforts and motives and his alleged “greed” for public eye from his compatriot Berg’s perspective. Berg first respected Assange and then left him, causing numerous allegations and counter-allegations on him by Wikileaks and vice-versa. Hence, the viewers still don’t know how Assange actually felt; he may have had his own reasons of leaking the documents putting into danger the life of the information source.

In a nut-shell, the Fifth Estate delivers the message of Information Revolution of Assange to the common man and the impact of public awareness and revolution on the establishments. The movie is exciting, creative and shows the bright as well as dark sides of Information Revolution. A recommended one-time watch!