THE FIFTH ESTATE

Review: A dramatic thriller based on real events that focuses on Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
Director: Bill Condon
Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl, Carice van Houten, Peter Capaldi, David Thewlis, Anatole Taubman, Alexander Beyer, Philip Bretherton, Dan Stevens, Jamie Blackley, Ludger Pistor, Alicia Vikander and Michael Kranz
Year: 2013
Genre: Biography, Drama and Thriller
Conclusion: 3/5
Apparently when Julian Assange heard that this film was going to be made he contacted Benedict Cumberbatch to ask him not to participate in this film. This is such a fantastic performance from Benedict Cumberbatch. He must have done a lot of research beforehand into Julian Assange, for instance his mannerisms etc. Once this film had finished I didn’t quite understand what the whole point of the film is or what story is they are trying to prove or get across. I got the feeling that the director had no idea which way the film wanted to go. Bill Condon is a fantastic director as he has done films in the past that I have enjoyed but I do think that this film was a bit too demanding for him. There are several scenes of people working in The Guardian office and everyone looks so busy. It all looks so false as if that happens all the time. Half the time I hadn’t got a clue what was going on. Daniel Bruhl did his very best with the material he had to work with, as did Peter Capaldi. Alicia Vikander is obviously a huge talent but was greatly underused in this film. Dan Stevens didn’t have much more than a walk on part. This film was a great opportunity for Benedict Cumberbatch to show off his acting talents but as a whole it was a hard watch. The main theme of the film is freedom of the press plus freedom of information on the internet.