Synopsis
Capturing the story of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with unprecedented access, director Laura Poitras finds herself caught between the motives and contradictions of Assange and his inner circle in a documentary portrait of power, betrayal, truth and sacrifice.
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Cast
- Julian AssangeSelf
- Sarah HarrisonSelf
- Jacob AppelbaumSelf
- Joseph FarrellSelf
- Renata AvilaSelf - Lawyer
- Jennifer RobinsonSelf - Lawyer
- Erinn ClarkSelf - Tor Project developer
- Laura PoitrasSelf (voice)
- Ana AlbanSelf - Ecuadorian ambassador
- Christine AssangeSelf - Julian's mother
Recommendations
- 83
IndieWire
Unlike "Citizenfour," there's not a whole lot here that hasn't already been revealed through the scrutiny of Assange's iconoclastic legacy, but the filmmaker's skillful treatment of the material yields another look at major historical events on an intimate level. - 80
CineVue
A superb character study of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. - 80
The Guardian
What we have here is an embedded report that sacrifices impartiality for access. But what access. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
There is much to appreciate in Poitras’ low-key, down-to-business approach which employs instinctive editing choices, and not her own persona (she never appears onscreen), to build the most revealing portrait of Assange and his WikiLeaks staff in the public domain. - 80
Screen Daily
Sometimes all a documentary needs to do is to get us in the room with somebody we’re curious about. Laura Poitras did this, and a lot more, in Citizenfour, by taking us to meet US whistleblower Edward Snowden; she pulls off the same trick in Risk. - 80
The Telegraph
Risk doesn’t burnish the Assange myth – it injects you into the bloodstream of the Assange story. - 75
The Film Stage
Poitras takes very little advantage of her direct access to Assange to offer up any other information that isn’t already common knowledge. - 75
The Playlist
Laura Poitras has done it again. Much like the celebrated Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour, “Risk” is instilled with a sense of immediate urgency as an apprehensive cloud hovers over every action, every word, every wayward glance.
