We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
Starring: Julian Assange, Adrian Lamo, Bradley Manning, Michael Hayden
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Reviewed by Danielle Muir
[rating: 3.5/5]
Julian Assange – crusader for the people? If you believe the media and popular public opinion, yes. However once Wikileaks: We Steal Secrets has finished you off, your perception of the elusive editor will decline drastically. Writer/Director Alex Gibney has certainly provided us with some tasty chunks to savour, which surprisingly turns quite anti-Assange in the end – if only he’d wasted less time with his murky openings.
We do jump through some hoops to get to our destination, and Gibney seems to be grabbing at straws in the beginning – not knowing how to leap out of the gate and into our interest. The documentary spends extremely short snippets of time explaining the purpose of Wikileaks, various people working behind the scenes and also footage of American political leaders testifying against the site. This unwillingness to focus continues until it lands its first real emotional punch – showing (almost entirely) the infamous video leaked of American soldiers mowing down a group of Afghan ‘terrorists’, whom it was revealed were actually Reuters journalists holding cameras. It’s appalling detestable and hard to watch – from here we pick up the pace.
Gibney also curiously chooses to focus on Bradley Manning’s gender identity issues, as well as using what we presume to be actual transcripts of chat conversations that led him to leak thousands of classified US Intelligence documents (including the aforementioned video). Testimonials from fellow army recruits and also hacker Adrian Lamo (who turned Manning in) do highlight the fact this was a man in deep conflict with his personality – however I don’t believe going into such great depth was altogether necessary.
Once we pass over Manning, the leaked videos, pieces from former Wikileaks workers, it’s Assange all the way. There’s considerable time spent on the pending rape cases currently causing his imposed house arrest – and props to Gibney for the way he’ll sway audiences with facts. Revelations such as his pre-existing four children (with as many women) and interviews with the disguised accusers paint a picture of Assange that will shock. Crusader? Or hacker with disillusions of his own grandeur and innate desire to procreate? Gibney’s elaboration on how the profits of Wikileaks are being funnelled into Assange’s own legal expenses is the final nail that cements your belief that he’s a master manipulator with somewhat of a god complex – should this documentary be faithful to the truth.
Certainly worth viewing, this documentary doesn’t reveal new information about what Wikileaks does or its purpose – however it’s Assange where Gibney hits the bullseye.
