The movie Oliver Stone hated every second of making: “A horrible experience in every way”
Oliver Stone has not slowed down in his later years, nor has he become less snarky.
As we all know well, Stone is a filmmaker who has never been afraid to draw attention to his political beliefs, as it was after his service in the Vietnam War that he used his experiences to create three of the most memorable films ever about the era: Salvador, Platoon, and Born on the Fourth of July.
Although Platoon was the most successful, given that it won both the Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’, all three films helped to show an alternative narrative to the propaganda that had been handed out by conservative politicians in the United States.
Stone has never backed away from intimidating topics, especially when it comes to the leadership of his nation; he delved into assassination conspiracies with his Oscar-winning epic JFK, offered a thorough deconstruction of a controversial presidential regime in Nixon, and examined President George W Bush with the biopic W., even though he was still in office at the time.
While not all of Stone’s recent films have been successful, he hasn’t lost his desire to make something meaningful that speaks to topical issues. 2016’s Snowden proved to be one of the most challenging shoots of Stone’s entire career, which is why he called it “a horrible experience in every way”.
The subject of Stone’s latest film was Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency who leaked classified documents that revealed that the United States had been conducting surveillance programs unbeknownst to citizens. While Snowden was praised in some circles as a patriot and a hero, he was forced to go on the run because of the accusations of treason.
While it isn’t all that surprising that Stone would be on the same side politically as Snowden, making a film about his life proved to be a unique challenge. Stone made a brilliant choice early on when he cast Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Stone, as the young actor perfectly captured the real subject’s mannerisms. However, Stone was also determined to get the real Snowden involved in some way, which led to increased complications.
Stone had been involved with more official documentaries, and Snowden is a narrative film, first and foremost. At the same time, Stone felt an obligation to get Snowden’s side of the story, given that he had been denied the chance to talk to Americans because he had been facing exile in Russia. Stone had to deal with real security concerns when it came to being associated with a known fugitive, and also had to make sure that the existence of his film didn’t endanger Snowden in any way.
Stone had been coming off a few misfires, such as the disappointing sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and the misguided crime thriller Savages, but Snowden was a throwback to his early work. It offered a compelling story about the intersection between personal ethics and patriotism, and gave Gordon-Levitt the opportunity to give one of the most unique and surprisingly emotional performances of his entire career. Although the actual danger that Stone faced in contacting his subject may have been among the most taxing ordeals he has ever dealt with, the result was a film that reminded people of why he is such a great filmmaker.
