The Report

For a political thriller, The Report is more sad than revelatory, more melancholy than cathartic. Jones's work was not entirely in vain. His revelations of a cover-up, though heavily doctored, eventually were made public.

The hackneyed script has the effect of lending an unmerited nobility to the politicians and bureaucrats on-screen.

Driver and Bening give detailed and thoughtful performances, and the film, though necessarily on the dry side, is riveting from start to finish.

Director Scott Z Burns captures the events in a cold, rigorously factual, and largely dispassionate manner. But that's the point.

The Report is a masterclass in how you build to a climax, especially when you can't rely on some big third-act action extravaganza.

The Report should piss you off. It should embarrass you. Maybe this time, we won't forget.

“The Report” doesn't much acknowledge just how much racism played a role in what happened, but it also almost seems to seethe, in its own understated fashion, against giving ground to the argument of torture being a necessary evil.

The Report earns our admiration by relying on details to tell the story, and our understanding of their implications does the rest.

Adam Driver puts in a strong performance as Jones. However, a disjointed narrative, featuring some overly clinical and bland scenes, sometimes hampers the film. When The Report focuses more on Jones and his findings, the film finds its groove.

The Report manages to create life and character in the face of a boring corporate and unremarkable background.